To Change The World
by OptionA
Summary: (FemIzuku) All For One inspires a seven year old Deku (Chisaki Midoriya) and runs into her six years later, upending everything she thinks she knows about heroes. She is left to evaluate how she feels about her life and what she wants. This is her story of self discovery in a world where good and bad are supposed to be clearly defined, or IOW: a slightly nuanced Villain!Deku fic!
1. Prologue

After living for so long and amassing so many quirks, All For One had come to realize something: quirks were useless. A quirk could not truly define a person or guarantee their safety or happiness.

All For One had come to face this reality only recently. After centuries of stealing, giving, and manipulating quirks, he felt that all of these flashy bits of magic were nothing more than status symbols. Those with half decent quirks had a leg up on those who had bad ones, or even worse, no quirk at all. His life was coming to an end, and no combination of quirks could keep him from his fate.

Over his lifetime, he had seen the people become gluttonous and greedy with their power. Quirks did not indicate a person's heart or intellect and yet those with strong quirks were praised as someone higher.

This society that had grown around him while he had hidden away and recovered from his wounds, clawing his way towards a 'recovery' he would never reach, was broken and twisted. It had given guns to fools and told them to shoot at whatever moved; placing 'Heroes' onto pedestals and pointing at 'Villains' as the scum of the earth.

He envied the quirkless, they were not dependent on these social crutches. They advanced by their own strength. It was these few who society should honor, to who this fantastical commodity should truly belong.

He was amongst these thoughts when he stumbled upon a group of children at a park. (He had been strolling through the streets of an urban neighborhood, savoring his few remaining days of mobility to experience the streets and people he would soon be confined from. He knew that his health would not hold for much longer. Even if he still had ten years to live, they would all be spent bedridden, and so these few months would be one of his few opportunities to see the outside world. Most people would have traveled the world if they found out that their days were numbered, but not him, he had had a few hundred years to see the world and its treasures; so, instead, he preferred to take in the common people as they lived their lives. It was a pity though, he would never be able to show them his real face. He had to use a quirk to produce an illusion around himself in order to walk in public, since his scarred face and body would have spooked any normal person.)

These children who played in the park, they were small, probably only seven or eight years old. At first glance he had thought that there were only three of them, since he recognized them by a quirk which read out other quirks. But then he looked closer, they were huddled around something, shouting and kicking at it, the kid in the middle, the one with the explosion quirk, was shouting especially loud and letting out threatening explosions from his hands.

That's when the boys shifted and All For One saw what they had been jeering at. A girl with short green hair, curled up in the fetal position and crying violently as she sat on the floor. The small boy with the explosive quirk called out louder, so that All For One could hear him now.

"Your Useless Deku. A purely useless deku! You'll never be anything."

The other two kids parroted the first boy.

"Yeah, useless."

"You'll never be anything."

"You don't even have a fucking quirk!" The first boy said before landing a vicious kick to his victim. The girl didn't respond except to tighten her shield of limbs.

Ah, so the fourth child was quirkless…

All For One frowned, he wouldn't say that he was angry, more disappointed. This girl was a perfect example of what happened to the quirkless people nowadays. He thought for a moment.

While he would have normally opted to remain a passive observer, it occurred to him that it would take such little effort to diffuse the situation.

"Hey you three." He called out as he entered the park.

"Ah! An adult." One of the kids exclaimed in surprise.

Another one looked to the boy with the explosive quirk, looking for a signal. This boy with the explosive quirk glared at All For One with his beady red eyes for a moment, before giving a grunt and a 'lets get out of here' and leaving with his two friends. After a moment All For One felt it was appropriate to inform the victim.

"It's okay now." All For One said evenly to the girl who still lay curled up on the floor. "Those three are gone."

The girl peeked her head up and looked around to confirm that her aggressors were indeed gone. She wiped her snot and tears on her pants before turning her big curious green eyes towards her benefactor.

"W-why did you stop them?" She asked with a sniff, confused as to why a stranger would stop to help her when everyone else had simply ignored her cries for help.

"I just had a moment to spare." He said with a smile.

Her curiosity turned to suspicion, nobody else had had a 'moment to spare.'

"What do you want with me?"

All For One chuckled, "Nothing. I was just curious." He paused for a moment. "Why didn't you try to defend yourself?"

The girl's green eyes narrowed and she looked away from him.

"I gave up on fighting them. I'm not strong enough."

"Not strong enough? Why is that?"

She wrapped her little arms around her little knees and squeezed them towards her chest, as if that would protect her from judgement. "I'm quirkless, useless."

"And?" All For One asked, as if this were inconsequential.

The girl looked up in surprise.

"Find a way to protect yourself. You can still grow into someone amazing. Take my brother for example, he was born quirkless, just like you. Granted my brother and I had a few disagreements, but he ultimately became a great hero who left a legacy of hope and ambition."

Her face was alight with wonder. "Are you saying that I can become a hero? Someone like All Might?"

All For One flinched, of course she had to mention him, but he smiled nonetheless. "Perhaps, in your own way. But, what's important is what's up here." He said, tapping his temple. "Today, flashy quirk users are a dime a dozen, but what really makes someone stand out is what they can do with their skills."

The girl watched him with big eyes, full of wonder, as if she were ingraining this moment in her memory.

Suddenly a voice called for him, from the edge of the park.

"Sir, what are you doing here?" A young Kurogiri, fresh out of college, stood by the gate, his voice was stiff with disbelief.

"Ah, I'm just keeping this young woman company."

"Well, b-boss," Kurogiri began evidently at a loss for words, "we have a meeting later today, you can't miss it."

He must have been quite the sight for his underling. The horrible, terrifying, villain All For One, a legend who haunted the nightmares of the proudest heroes, was sitting in a park comforting a beaten little girl. The thought brought a smile of amusement to his lips

"My friend is right, I have to be going." All For One said down to his new friend. "I guess that I'll be seeing you around little miss."

"Wait! My name is Chisaki." The small one blurted out suddenly. "It's not 'little miss', my name is Chisaki Midoriya."

All For One looked down in astonishment, and he was sure that Kurogiri's eyes were going to pop out of his eye sockets. The girl's eyes were filled with a solid determination and a bright smile was her lips. It was almost hard to believe that this same child had been crying and hurt only minutes before. That optimistic resilience was rather amusing.

All For One smiled slowly at her innocence. "My friends call me Sensei."


	2. The Life of a Fool

Chisaki Midoriya rolled over in her bed and looked at her clock. Its light temporarily blinding her tired eyes as she read its display. _Only two in the morning?_ She thought in dismay. _Well, I guess its just going to be another sleepless night…_ She let loose a sigh into the empty room.

Her eyes scanned the walls and their familiar All Might posters. Her dream screamed at her from the back of her mind and thoughts drifted through her head, as they often did during these nights, and served only to further that elusive sleep.

A memory, like a video that she had seen thousands of times, played itself in her mind; a smile found its way to her lips as her mind ran its usual loop.

She was at the park when she was seven or so, it was an average day. Kachaan and his usual friends had been there, doing what they always did. Then a man walked up and scared Kachaan and his friends off. He had spoken with her only briefly, but she had long since memorized every word that strange man had uttered and every intonation or movement the man had made. She had known that she would likely never see this man again, but his words had sparked in her that indelible desire to become a hero; to stand like All Might and show the world that everything was going to be okay.

Of course, people had been dubious of her, people made fun of her behind her back or even told her blatantly that it was impossible; there were even people like Kachan who seemed to think that it was their place to physically dissuade her. And yet it was no secret that she was still striving for that dream.

Chisaki reached behind her clock and picked up a worn notebook, reading its title in the clock's pale light.

'For the Future: Hero Analysis #13'

A warm smile lit her face in that dark room. This was _her_ dream and she _was_ going to pursue it.

Later that same day, for it was properly day now, she sat at school. The homeroom of her eighth grade class had been running like usual, the teacher droning on about some school activities or upcoming events. Chisaki never had much interest in those things, seeing these people at school was enough for her, she didn't need to see them more often than necessary; besides it was common knowledge that none of them particularly liked her, they considered her bookish, awkward, and unsociable.

Suddenly, something the teacher had said, caught her attention.

"I have the forms for the high school applications here." The man said, holding up a stack of papers and waving them around. Chisaki glanced around the room at the repeated expressions of excitement and anticipation.

"Now, I know that many of you want to apply to UA," To which the whole class roared in approval and chaos ensued as everyone activated their quirks simultaneously, as if trying to prove that they all deserved to be in UA. Chisaki, just held her hand up timidly.

The teacher cleared his throat and waited for the chaos to die-down a little bit.

"But, how many of you are planning to actually apply and hope to get in?"

Every hand remained raised, including Chisaki's.

A shout came from the back of the class. "What the fuck are you all talking about?" Katsuki Bakugo roared angrily, his feet flung off from their previous position, propped up on the desk, as he stood and shot his vicious glare around the room. "Put your hands down, you fucking extras! I'm going to be the only one applying to UA."

A murmur of uncertainty ran through the class, hands started dropping, and worried and accusing glances shot around like bullets. Bakugo's status as the strongest, most violent, and most promising student in the year, had cemented him as an untouchable and omnipotent existence in the classroom. He was known for going after anyone who disagreed with him and for setting his usual posy of able quirk-user friends to crush any spirit that rose against him.

And yet, Chisaki had remained as this existence apart from the mob mentality of the class, she stood up to Bakugo despite her fear of him. Most people thought that she must be mentally stunted to dare defy Katsuki Bakugo, an existence who even the teachers hesitated to touch.

And so there she sat, hand raised, when everyone else had dropped theirs.

She would stand for her dream. If this wasn't the moment to pursue her dream of becoming a hero, by going to UA, then there would never be a moment.

"Put your hand down." Bakugo's grating voice came from behind her, his tone was low and deadly.

She felt a chill run up her spine, he only used this tone when he meant business and it carried with it an unsaid threat.

She kept her right hand raised, her left clutched her hero notebook in a vice grip on the desk.

Then the bell rang, a shrill noise which made Chisaki jump in surprise.

"W-Well, I'll be seeing you all again on Monday." The teacher concluded awkwardly. He gave a forced smile before sweeping from the room in a quick motion reminiscent, Chisaki thought, of a villain fleeing the scene of a crime.

Around her, students stood and rushed hurriedly to the doors; desperate to escape the tensely charged atmosphere of the classroom.

Before Chisaki could rise and do the same, a hand clamped violently onto her shoulder, shoving her back down into her seat. Bakugo strode into her field of view, two of his lackeys standing at either side.

His eyes were like little embers, glaring at her as if his gaze alone should have been able to burn a hole through her.

"What the **Fuck** was that, **Deku**?" He asked as he leaned forward, staring into her green eyes maliciously.

She looked away and instead opted to plant her gaze on her desk.

"What was what, Kachaan?" She asked quietly.

"You know what I'm talking about! That stupid display of yours. Why the fuck do you think that _you_ can **challenge** _me_?" He snapped.

She said nothing and focused on keeping her hands from shaking.

Bakugo's eyes narrowed and he looked down to where her gaze was trained. He grinned when he saw her clutching her notebook.

"What is this piece of trash?" He asked, snatching it from her grasp. "'For the Future: Hero Analysis #13'. What is this Bull-Crap?" He exclaimed, grinning down at her. "And you've got another twelve of these pieces of garbage?" His lackeys laughed around him while Bakugo opened the unassuming notebook and flipped to a random page, he scanned it for a moment. "Its just a bunch of stupid hero analysis." He looked up at her big eyes, which now watched him in horror, they both knew what he was going to do next. Bakugo gripped a dozen or so pages and ripped them out violently, letting the fistful of pages fall to the ground. "Deku, you really are a stupid, obsessive, fangirl!"

Her eyes stung with tears she wouldn't let fall. Those were hours of hard work and he had just torn it up like it was nothing.

"Oh, are you going to start crying now?" He turned to one of his lackeys. "Look at her, we tear up her precious little notebook and she's gunna start bawling like a toddler."

She stood up suddenly, shifting her self-pity to her anger. "Give that back to me, right now, Bakugo!"

The three of them stared at her for a moment, stunned. Then they doubled over, laughing.

"Oh God!" One of the lackeys exclaimed.

"Was that supposed to be intimidating?" The other said, as he gasped for air.

"Is the poor, little, quirkless, Deku going to make me give back this notebook?" Bakugo asked with a smirk. "Well, you know what, I'm feeling generous today. You can have your book back…" He paused for a moment and watched her glare at him. "But, you're going to have to go and collect it from the fishes." He said with a grin.

A protest died in Chisaki's throat with a wimpy little yelp, before she watched Bakugo release a series of explosions on the book. He shot her a knowing look before chucking the now charred projectile through the window.

Chisaki heard it land in the fish pond with a distant splash. She felt like crying. Her heart and soul had gone into that book, so much love care had just been obliterated because this massive prick wanted to make her suffer.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Bakugo's wolfish smile.

"You see, I'm going to be a hero, and I can't have someone like you staining my coattails. So, why don't you forgot about getting into UA, you shitty nerd." He said, using that cold and deadly tone while he set off a series of explosions on her shoulder. A trail of smoke coiled out from under his hand and his eyes said it all; this was not a suggestion, but a command.

"Good. I think she understands." Bakugo said, removing his hand from her shoulder and turning to his lackeys. "Lets go. I wanna stop at the arcade on the way home."

"That sounds like fun." One of the lackeys said, trailing after Bakugo as he made his way to the door of the classroom.

The last lackey gave her a little smirk before he left. "That's really pitiful, can't even say anything back."  
"Come on!" Bakugo called from the doorway.

When they were all gone, Chisaki let her tears fall. _I'm so fucking useless. God Damn it! Why can't they just leave me be._

She walked down the stairs, and outside to the front of the school.

 _I just want to be a hero. It's not my fault that I'm quirkless…_

She walked up to the fish pond and saw her notebook drifting in the water.

 _I don't want to be this weak. I want to be a hero, someone like All Might!_

She picked up the book gingerly, watching the water fall in a hypnotic little stream from the soaked and charred pages.

 _I want to inspire people and make them feel safe. I want to be a hero so that I can stop people like Kachaan, so that no one has to be pushed around by someone who calls themselves a 'hero'..._

She began her lonely trek home, making sure to take the long way in order to avoid the busy center of the city, where the arcades were; she didn't want to run the risk of running into Katsuki again.

 _Why? Why is this world so cruel? If I had been born with a quirk, I would at least stand a chance against people like Kachaan. I would have a real shot at being a hero._

 _Ha! Who have I been kidding? I've had my heart set on this stupid dream of being a hero for so long and I can't even stand up for myself. If I can't even fend off some stupid bullies, how would I fight villains?_

 _If its going to be people like Kachaan standing over me the rest of my life, then I would rather give up now. I'm just being stupid. Theres no way that I can be a hero. What's the point of hoping of being a hero anyways? Who do I think I can save? Maybe if I just go to a normal high school, I can still salvage some of my school life. Maybe even have some friends._

Chisaki thought as she approached a cement tunnel, over which passed a bland, ordinary, street.

 _Nobody's supported me in my dream of being a hero anyways. Just my mom and some stranger who I'll probably never see again._

She entered the tunnel, it was dark and damp, and smelled like something rotten. She was too lost in thought to notice a sewage grate shifting by her feet.

 _I mean, not even my teachers would even acknowledge that I wanted to be a hero, they have always skirted around the subject, as if by ignoring it, they could make it disappear. They won't even help me when I mention that I'm being bullied by their star student! This whole thing is just-_

She was cut off when a mass of green liquid rose up from behind her, and fell on top of her.

Panic overrode all sense… _What is this? Is this a villain?_ _What are you supposed to do when a villainous monster shows up? Where are the heroes? Someone save me!_

"Help!" She began desperately. "Help-" She went to scream again but was cut off by the liquid slipping over her mouth and she scrambled to break free. She got her head above water for just long enough to get a lung-full of air before being drowned again.

"Shhhhh!" The sewage monster hissed, its voice reverberating around her. "Be quiet little girl! A hero might hear you."

 _That's what I want, you creep!_

"Look, I just need your body for a little while. I just need to escape the city." He said with that revolting voice that shifted all of the liquid she was suspended in.

Her lungs were screaming for air. She kicked violently at the villain's body, trying to propell herself upwards, to no avail.

 _A hero will show up any moment now._ She assured herself in desperation. _That's what heroes are supposed to do, show up and save people. Right?_

Her eyes frantically scanned the street on the other side of tunnel. There was no one there. No hero had appeared to save her.

Chisaki kicked again. She was starting to feel a little light headed.

 _Air! I can't breathe! Let me breathe, please-_

She thought for a moment that she saw a muscular figure at the mouth of the tunnel:

 _All Might! All Might's come to save me!_

But then her vision shifted, that was not one man but two. Her eyes were no longer focusing properly. She kicked out again, thrashing desperately.

 _Please save me! Whoever you are._

Then she felt her mind go blank.

She regained some semblance of consciousness a few seconds later. She must have been on the floor, because her view was coming from very far below. She was looking up at a man with hands placed all over his body and at another man, in a suit, who seemed to be made of black smoke.

These two were not the heroes she had called for…

 _Yeah_ , she decided, _I'm hallucinating._

Then she blacked out.

* * *

Author Note: Hi, I know that its been a week or two since I posted last. I'm sorry about leaving you all with just the prologue for so long. I hope that this chapter is a little bit more enlightening on the vibe of this story. Any critiques or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


	3. A New Glimpse Part 1

Chisaki Midoriya had just regained consciousness. She had no idea where she was. She had long since resisted the impulse to open her eyes and look around wildly.

The last thing she remembered was seeing two people save her from that slime villain; so, based on the unfamiliar voices and the suffocating stench of cigarette smoke, she had judged that they must have taken her somewhere unfamiliar.

When she had first become aware of her surroundings, she had gone over what she remembered in order to better asses her situation. From what she remembered, and the unsavory glance she got of her saviors, she had decided that she would do better to asses her surrounding and pick up anything she could before making her return to the world of the living known.

If there was anything that her life at the bottom of the food chain had taught her, it was to always be cautious.

So, there she lay, unsure of where she was, eyes closed, immobile while she listened for any clue as to where she was or what kind of people had picked her up.

And then it came, the voices had come close enough that she could discern the conversation. There was a scraping sound of wood on…something; _probably a chair being pulled out_ , Chisaki deduced.

"Why did you bring her here?" It was a hissed whisper. "I thought we agreed to bring her to her house!"

"Well, I didn't want to go searching through her things for an address, that would have been impolite." This second voice was calmer but still hushed.

"God! We already saved her." There was a shuffling sound, and the voice became more whinny. "We don't _save_ people Kurogiri, we're **villains** , that's just not what we _do_."

 _Villains?_ Her mind recoiled at that thought, she would have flinched if she hadn't been working so hard to keep her body still. _These people who saved me are villains?_

 _Just where am I? I need to open my eyes…but if I do that they'll know I'm awake._

 _Villains…I'm surrounded by villains!_

There was a pause, "…Well we've done it, Tomura, and it's our responsibility to help her."

"Responsibility my ass!" The first voice said in raspy retort. "Leave that bullshit to the heroes."

There was a rustle of material and a clink of glass. "Tomura, keep your head on straight. Need I remind you that you're the one who suggested we kill that slime man?"

There was a new shift of material and the creek of a chair.

"He was overstepping his bounds as a mere pickpocket and thief, and he was drawing too much attention in our direction. That _thing_ was just a loose end that needed cutting…and this mess with the girl is just a stupid, complicated, _byproduct_!"

"Will the two of you be quiet!" This was a third voice came from her left, and it was much closer than the other two; in fact, it was so close, that Chisaki would have guessed that it was only an arm's length away. "You're going to wake up the damn girl."

 _Should I respond? Say 'Don't worry, I'm already awake, I heard everything you just said.'?_

 _No, these are villains, you don't want to play smart with people who are dangerous; especially when you don't know where you are..._

 _I should act like I've just woken up from all the noise…Yeah that sounds like a good idea…_

She shifted her weight a bit and grumbled, making a very conscious effort to move slowly; she didn't want to spook these people, but she also wanted to get a visual on her situation. She rose slowly into a sitting position and clutched her head, letting her eyes scan her surroundings in bewilderment.

She was sitting on the red leather seat of a booth, to her left was a table and sitting in the booth opposite her, on the other side of that table, was a man. He wore a worn-out brown suit and little round glasses that only partially obscured his small shifty eyes. His grey hair, week-old stubble, and the cigar in his hand, coupled with his shaggy clothes, just screamed unkept and unpleasant.

That same man watched her curiously. "Oh, look who just woke up..." He said as he let out a lungful of smoke, right into Chisaki's face.

She coughed and sputtered in confusion. "Where- *cough*- Where am I?"

She clutched at her chest, gave another cough, and glanced around again as the smoke cleared.

It looked like she was in a bar; the lighting was relatively dim and on the other side of the decent sized room was a bar and two figures.

She watched them curiously. One figure stood behind the bar, polishing a glass, he was vaguely familiar. This man, or she assumed he was a man since she couldn't properly tell, was dressed in a well-tailored and neat suit, and what parts of him where visible seemed to be made of black colored smoke; curiously enough his eyes were marked only by two pinpricks of light. Chisaki partially recognized him as one of the figures she had seen before passing out.

She turned her attention to the man who was hunched over on his stool, he had kept his back to her; a definite sign that he was ignoring her. She couldn't tell a lot about him from the back, but she recognized the severed hands that gripped his arms, he had been the other man who she had seen previously.

Chisaki looked back at the disheveled man sitting across from her, "W-who are you? Where a-am I?" She said, letting her voice shake a little.

The man across from her cocked his head, his small eyes watching her curiously, as he took a drag from his cigar. After a moment, he called out in a loud carrying voice, which made Chisaki jump.

"Hey Shigaraki are you good with us giving names?"

Chisaki looked over at the bar. _Which one is Shigaraki?_

The man slumped on the stool gave a grunt. "Do whatever you want, Giran."

She turned back to see the other man's, Giran's, reaction.

He gave a small grin. "Well my name is Giran, as you must have heard already … What's your name?"

She felt her muscles tense. _Okay this is kinda weird…_

"My name is Chisaki…" She said slowly, careful to omit her last name; she didn't know these people after all and she definitely didn't want a group of villains to know her full name.

"Well it's nice to meet you Chisaki." He said, taking a puff from his cigarette.

Suddenly, a gloved hand swooped in and snatched the cigarette from the man's hand.

"Giran, I'm sure that I've told you not to smoke in here! It's a fire hazard, _and_ it makes this place smell like a dump." The man made of smoke said disapprovingly as he crushed the butt of the cigarette into an ashtray, which he must have brought with him. Then he turned to Chisaki and did something she thought might have been a smile, but she couldn't tell.

"Hello young lady, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kurogiri." He said kindly as he put down a coaster and a glass of water. "You must be rather parched, right?"

 _This is really, **really** , weird… and my throat does feel kind of scratchy…_

 _But, these guys_ are _villains, so I wonder if they put anything in the water?_

Kurogiri must have noticed her hesitation.

"Don't worry about the drink. I promise it's just normal tap water." He said, his eyes turning upwards in the corners, now she was certain that that was a smile.

She decided to take a small sip of the water, rolling it over her tongue. _It doesn't taste strange, maybe it is just tap water, like this Kurogiri guy said._

 _Now that I get a closer look at him, he looks a bit familiar…have I seen him before? Maybe on the street...No, I think that I would have remembered seeing someone who looked like this…What is it? Where have I seen him?_

This continued to poke at her mind as the conversation shifted.

"Shigaraki," Giran called over towards the bar. "Why don't you come and introduce yourself?"

Across the bar, the man who still sat on his stool, shifted in blatant discomfort. "Kurogiri, I think I'll just… go upstairs." He said in a raspy voice.

Kurogiri turned towards him and chided him disapprovingly. "Tomura, at least come say 'hi' to Chisaki. It was your idea to save her, after all. Don't you think that you'll disappoint her?"

 _What? This guy, who can't even bear to look at me, he was the one who saved me? This villain with creepy hands all over his body?_ She would have laughed, if she wasn't sure that her current company would have disapproved.

"I don't care about what she _thinks_." Shigaraki said, getting down from his stool, a glass in his hand. "I'll be upstairs." He said with a sigh, as he disappeared into a hall beside the bar.

Kurogiri sighed and turned around to face his guest. "I apologize on his behalf. He's not really a bad person, he just…has a lot of…pressure… on his shoulders and he doesn't do too well with people he doesn't know."

Chisaki gave a small smile, unsure of how to respond. _What is with these Villains… They certainly aren't acting like any villains that I've ever seen…_

"Um…I don't mind too much, I can see why he would be nervous." She said gingerly.

Kirigiri smiled again. "Your very kind, aren't you?"

She blushed, caught off guard. "Um, t-thank you… but not particularly." She said nervously.

"I hate to interrupt," Giran said, looking bored, "But it's getting quite late."

Kurogiri held up his wrist and checked his watch, "Oh your right." He looked up at Chisaki. "We should get you home young woman."

She watched him, bewildered, for a moment.

"Just tell me where to drop you off." Kurogiri said helpfully.

"Um…Sakura park?" She said, startled. That park was only a few blocks from her house and it was a residential area, so it wouldn't be very indicative of her home address.

 _Are they going to let me go just like that? These guys are Villains, right? This is too easy…They're too nice!_

"We can do that." Kurogiri said with his eyes doing their smiling thing.

He then turned away, to face the empty part of the room. He held his hand out and, to Chisaki's amazement, a vortex of black smoke began to form and grow in the air; within seconds it had grown large enough to fit Chisaki herself.

"Wow…" She said in amazement, a bright smile plastering itself across her face.

 _Is this a transportation quirk?! How does it work? Do you just walk through it and show up at your destination? How do you determine the destination? Does it ever fail? Are there any limits? Does it drain a lot of energy?..._

Kurogiri cleared his throat nervously. Chisaki blinked, startled, and looked at their expressions.

"Why do you look so surprised?" She asked puzzled, then her eyes widened in realization. "I'm sorry, did I say all of that out loud?" She asked. Kurogiri gave a little nod. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I do that sometimes when I get excited. Its probably really creepy. I've been told that its off-putting…"

Giran let out a barking laugh.

"Ha! Chisaki, kiddo, if that's your only flaw, then you're better off than most of us."

Her face turned beat red. She was about to say something more, when the phone rang, startling everyone.

Kurogiri and Giran shared a look Chisaki couldn't understand. Kirigiri let his vortex dissipate and he went to grab the phone. He held the receiver up to his face, in something Chisaki read as a forced calm.

"Yes Sensei?" He asked slowly.

For a second, he was quiet, then he nodded, and spoke into the mouthpiece. "Yes, sir, I will do that, immediately."  
He put the phone back on its hook and turned towards Chisaki. She could see that he was trying to smile, but not quite succeeding.

"There's someone who wants to meet you."

Kurogiri materialized a new vortex.

 _What happened? Who was on the phone? Kurogiri said 'Sensei'? Could that have been the Sensei that I remember? That's not very likely, 'Sensei' is a common label for teachers…But still if he is **that** Sensei…_

Her initial reaction was to be excited, but Giran and Kurogiri both seemed rather morose. _Maybe this isn't a joyful occasion…?_ She thought dubiously.

"Just go through there, I'll be right behind you." Kurogiri said motioning towards the portal.

Chisaki paused and studied the vortex, everything gave the indication that she might very well be walking to her death, and yet her curiosity edged her on. The possibility of seeing her one supporter again, the only person who had ever told her that she could be a hero despite the odds, that's what drove her feet forward.

She was half through the portal when Kurogiri asked her something strange.

"You wouldn't happen to be quirkless would you?" He asked evenly.

Chisaki gave a slow nod, a cannonball of dread settling into her stomach before she stepped into the dark portal.


	4. A New Glimpse Part 2

For a second, everything was black and then she emerged into a large room. Across one wall, were a series of screens, each displaying different places; one, she noticed, displayed a view of the bar, while another showed a row of tubes, inside of which floated big, purple, muscular, bird faced, humanoid, _things_.

"Ahem-" a voice, came from her right.

Chisaki spun around. Now with her back to the screens, she properly surveyed the rest of the room, and saw the hulking curiosity that filled the rest of that space.

Against the far wall, facing the screens, was a large throne like seat, behind which rumbled a mass of machinery. Sitting in that seat, looking at her expectantly, was a man. His face was so heavily scarred that he had no eyes that she could see, nor any hair. Protruding from his throat came a long dark pipe and small IVs jutted out from his arms and the sides of his neck. Her eyes followed the tubes and wires back to the amalgamation of machinery.

For a moment, she could only stare at the array, shocked; almost terrified. She wasn't sure how she should react.

She thought for a moment about how this man looked and how she had gotten so excited to see that 'sensei' man again.

The man cleared his throat. Chisaki jumped, startled, her face turning red in embarrassment. _He must have caught me staring._

"Um…" She began, awkwardly.

"Its nice to see you again, Chisaki Midoriya." The man said with a warm smile.

Her eyes went wide with shock and wonder. "It can't be…"

"It's been six years, if I remember correctly."

"B-but you didn't look like this." She sputtered in confusion.

He gave a small laugh. "Well, I had to use a quirk to hide my face. As I'm sure that you can imagine, my appearance is not very… ah… palatable. Unfortunately, if I were to been seen like this on the street, I would be locked away faster than you could blink."

"Oh…" Chisaki said, nodding numbly, she was still a bit shocked after all. "Um, what about all of this?" She said as she motioned to the machinery behind him.

Sensei gave a little laugh. "A bit absurd I know. Well, all of _this_ is necessary to keep me alive and healthy."

Chisaki's eyebrow's creased in worry. "Do you have some kind of condition?"

"Ah…" He gave a small chuckle. "Not quite." Sensei seemed to watch her for a second, although she couldn't quite tell since she couldn't see his eyes. "Would you like to take a seat? You've been standing for quite a while." He offered.

"Oh, um, sure." Chisaki said, startled, she hadn't realized how long she had been standing for. She looked around for a chair or somewhere to sit.

To her amazement, the man before her snapped his fingers and the ground just in front of her began to spark with strange lightning. Suddenly a rectangle of ground rose up to about her waist and a slate of stone shot off from the ground, rising higher than the first piece to form the back of the chair. The lightning stopped and Chisaki had to take a moment to make sure that the ground wasn't going to shift again.

"How does it look?" Sensei asked kindly.

Chisaki circled around from the back and sat down gingerly. "It-It looks good. Who knew that the ground could be so comfortable if it were just reshaped?" She said with a polite laugh.

The man smiled and resumed his speech, "So, as I was saying before, I don't really have a 'condition'. You see, I'm simply very, very, old, and a couple years ago I was seriously hurt. It just seems that my age is catching up with me"

"Is there anything that I can do?" Chisaki asked in concern.

Sensei threw his head back and gave a deep, throaty, laugh. "Oh, God, no. I've already done everything there is to do to try and save my life. Besides I don't have anything else I want to do here-" He paused for a moment. "Well, except for _that_ …but that's not really my job anymore, I will be leaving my dream to my protégé after all. I have finally relinquished my claim to this world." He sighed. "I've come such a long way too. This _world_ has come such a long way, albeit not entirely in the right direction."

"What do you mean?" Chisaki asked, curious.

Sensei tilted his head at her thoughtfully. "I don't want to impose my ideals on you…they're not the most socially accepted."  
She smiled a small smile. "I mean no offense Sensei; but I'm _quirkless_ , my existence itself isn't socially accepted."  
Sensei let loose a barking laugh. "Well I suppose that a history lesson wouldn't be too nefarious…"

He paused for a moment while Chisaki got comfortable in her chair, she had a feeling that this was going to be a long story.

"I was born in a time when the majority of people were still quirkless -It's kind of ironic to think that the majority is now the minority- Back then, there was widespread unrest. Society couldn't adapt fast enough to accommodate the new development of the supernatural. At first everything was great, people were ecstatic to think that the comic book stories had come true. Things that only existed in fiction were now possible with quirks; we got Heroes and legends, but, inevitably, we got the other side of that coin; Villains and people with their own agendas rose as well. The world became exponentially more dangerous. 'Villain' groups began to form, each seeking their own stability and gain amongst the turmoil.

As time passed, more people gained quirks and society adapted to account for the masses. A new system arose to protect the civilian people, the hero system…But the problem was that the good and the bad got thrown in together. Heroes aren't pure and infallible, they're just as human as Villains..."

Chisaki cocked her head. "You said that you were born at the beginning of this." She began slowly. "You must have had your part in this revolution of social order. What was it?" She asked, watching him curiously.

Sensei frowned. "I created one of those independent 'villain' groups, I was looking to create a new order. I didn't agree with these heroes and moved to assert myself as a new power in that tumultuous world. I maintained my influence in the underground for a while, until I was recognized as a 'villain' and targeted by these newborn 'heroes'. My own brother opposed me, even until his death… that last bit pains me even now, it's a heavy regret of mine, not seeing him off while on good terms… Even to this day, my brother's successors are after my head… Even the Hero Association has me classified as a high-level threat." He concluded with a sigh.

"Are you still…a villain?" Chisaki asked, working to keep emotion and surprise from her voice.

"I suppose so…Though I've been hiding for the last ten years or so, so maybe I'm retired or something like that." He said with a dismissive laugh, doing that thing where he _looked_ like he was looking at her.

"Ah, I-I see." She said looking down at her hands.

 _So, Sensei is a villain…stay calm…The only person to ever support my effort of becoming a hero is a villain, a big villain too. This is just_ too _bizarre…Should I be hurt? Angry? Betrayed?_

 _How do I react to this? What kind of a reaction is he looking for?_

 _He mentioned a protégée and a 'dream'? Who is the protégée? What dream?_

 _What is his goal? Why did he want to talk to me in the first place?_

 _Ahhhh! So many questions!_

 _Does he still believe that I can be a hero? Did he ever believe that at all?_

 _He obviously thinks that Heroes and Villains aren't very different… Is that why he said that to me that day six years ago?_

Chisaki took a deep breath and set her shoulders.

She turned around to face the man who had just shaken her world. "With all due respect, Sensei… why did you bring me here?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in font of him. "Well, I wanted to see how you were doing, Chisaki."

"You could have seen how I was doing just fine from those screens." She said, motioning over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed. "Why bring me _here_?"

"Are you still hoping to be a hero?" He asked, his voice losing all warmth, and ignoring her previous question.

Chisaki flinched, taken aback by the change in his tone and his dismissing of her question. "Yes." She responded, looking away guiltily.

"And how's that going for you?" He asked with a small grin, as if he already knew the answer.

She sat up straight. "Just fine, thank you. I'm going to apply to UA."

"Oh, UA? Don't you think that you'r setting your sights a bit high? Do you think they'll admit you?"

She flinched, _Why is he suddenly hitting all of my insecurities?_ Her eyes slid aside guiltily. "No, I don't think they will; my chances of being accepted are slim. But I have to try. If I don't even try I'll never have any hope of succeeding."

"That's an admirable mindset…But unfortunately the world does not run on positivity. What would you do if you were given the opportunity to gain a quirk?" He asked, his voice still cold and devoid of that earlier cheer.

Chisaki's mind sputtered. _Gain a quirk? I didn't even know that was an option? Is that even possible?_

"How would that happen?" She asked dubiously.

"Well, for now, let's just play a game of 'what ifs'. We can think about how later." He said with a grin.

"Well," She began in a slow and cautious drone. "I would apply to UA and hope I get accepted. If I did get accepted, I would follow that path until I graduate. Then I'd become a real hero and, well, save people."

He tilted his head to the side. "From villains?"

She didn't respond.

"And how do you feel about us Villains? I'm sure that you must have some opinion."

"I don't like you…you're unpredictable and dangerous."  
"Dangerous because we're unpredictable?" He asked quizzically. "Aren't you sure that that sounds like something society would want you to be thinking? Because we're deviants? Because our only way to survive is to work outside the system?"

"No!… I can't read you, predict you."

"We're human aren't we? I can read human beings like open books. You for example, You're a smart girl, good natured and quick witted. Your naturally curious and know when to follow and when to lead. You hate it when people talk down to you, but you can recognize when to take shit.

Your whole life you've lived as the bottom of the food chain. Nobody wants to help you and everybody loves to step on you. The few people who genuinely care about you are too caught up in their own messes to see you hurting. You've suffered betrayals and deceits, so your overly cautious and analytical. As a result, you can hold up a mask and smile along with anything short of bloodshed." He gave her that look without eyes to look with. "How was that?"

"Spot on." She said begrudgingly. "But the biggest difference between heroes and villains is what they fight for. Heroes don't fight for themselves, but for the people."

Sensei leaned forward. "I have something to tell you Chisaki…Heroes don't fight for others, they're only interested in their own gain; just like villains."

"No. There are heroes, like All Might, who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the people. They're completely selfless." She shot back defensively.

"People like _All Might_ are keeping secrets while smiling for the camera-"

"They have a public image to protect!"

"Exactly. It's all about their public image. Meanwhile people like you and I are being trampled underfoot!"

Chisaki's eyes went wide in shock, feeling like someone had just slapped her. _He just lumped us together…He's acting as if I have been oppressed by society!... …. ….. b-but haven't I? Haven't I been stepped on by everyone at school. Kachaan and his friends might be the only ones directly going after me, but everyone else is laughing and standing by while I get hurt. All because I don't have a quirk and don't fit into their archetypes._

Someone cleared their throat behind her.

"What is it Kurogiri?" Sensei asked curtly.

"Sir, it's almost seven. It may not be my place to say this, but Chisaki's parents are going to begin to wonder where she is. We should get her home before they alert the authorities."

Sensei sighed. "You have a point." He paused for a moment to asses Chisaki's reaction, she was still looking numbly at the hands folded in her lap. "Chisaki, why don't we leave our discussion here for today? We can resume our debate another day."

She looked up and nodded, still dazed.

Kurogiri began to prepare one of his black portals.

"How will I contact you?" She asked, the thought had suddenly occurred to her.

Sensei reached next to his seat and grabbed a pad of paper, scribbled something on it and then ripped the page out. "You can call for Kurogiri at this number." He said with a kind smile, as he handed Chisaki the page.

She took it deftly. "Thank you...Sensei."

"The portal is ready." Kurogiri announced.

Chisaki stood to leave, reaching down to pick up her backpack. She felt really awkward, leaving just like this; only seconds ago, she had been arguing with this imposing man. She took a few stiff steps towards the portal.

"I hope to hear from you soon." Sensei said from behind her.

She turned and let loose a small smile. "I will do my best, Sensei."

With that she was through Kurogiri's portal, gone.

When she had left, Kurogiri watched his master cautiously. "What are you planning to do with her, Sir?"

"Do with her? Nothing. What she does is up to her. I simply find her entertaining, such a curious, despairing, mind." For a moment there was a long pause. "Kurogiri, how do you think she would fare as a villain?"

* * *

Chisaki stepped through the portal, setting foot in a familiar park.

 _So, I **was** taken to Sakura Park…_

 _God, what just happened? Did I just spend the whole afternoon talking to Villains? No, even before that, I got attacked and **rescued** , by **villains**!_

After that one thought, panic struck her.

 _Wait a minute? What time did Kurogiri say it was?_

She fished her phone out of her backpack in trepidation. She turned it on, thank god it was okay; its display read 7:22.

"Shit!" She exclaimed.

 _Oh God! What am I going to tell my mom?_

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hello, to everyone who might read this rambling story.

Some of you might wonder why there are two chapters this week. Well this sequence was going to be one chapter, but I decided to break into two.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I apologize if it got a bit boring and convoluted for you; there was just so much to be said between these characters.

Anyways thank you for toughing it out.

On a side note, a Guest account commented that Chisaki (the FemIzuku) shares the same name as Overhaul. Yikes! Wish I had caught that earlier.

If anyone wants me to change their name, I can do that(it wouldn't be outrageous if it means that more people will enjoy this story). Just comment and, if you can, give some suggestion for the new name.

Thank you for your time dear reader. Have a great Sunday.


	5. A Perfectly Normal Day

Chisaki climbed the steps to the second story of her apartment building, trepidation knotting her guts with worry.

Oh god, mom's going to kill me!

She cautiously approached the door to their apartment, a silent plea ringing desperately in her mind.

Please let the door be locked. Please let the door be locked! Please, let my mom be working the late shift at the hospital!

She twisted the handle of the door gingerly, it turned easily and the door sprung open. Chisaki's heart plummeted.

There, standing in the entryway, was her mother, Inko, a look of thorough disapproval and anger twisting her normally warm features. Her hands shook in anger as she clutched a phone in her hand.

"Where have you been Chisaki!" She exclaimed, furious, as she marched up to her daughter. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you? I've been worried sick!"

Chisaki smiled apologetically. "I'm so sorry mom, I…um… fell asleep at the park." Chisaki said as she nodded, deciding that that lie would work for her, "I decided to stop at the park on my way home and I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, the sun was already setting and I ran here as soon as possible."

Inko narrowed her eyes, dubious. "Then what is that burn mark on your shoulder?"

Chisaki glanced at her shoulder, surprised.

What burn mark?

It was a relatively large, brown handprint shaped, singe on her white blouse. It must have been from Katchaan's antics at school…How did I almost forget about that?

"Oh, it's nothing, mom." Chisaki began with a dismissive wave as she moved past Inko, and into the living room. "It's just from some play fighting at school. You know how Kachaan gets, always playing his practical jokes." She said with a reassuring smile.

Inko sighed and released her death grip on her phone, setting it down on the living room table.

"Fine, I'll let this one slide. I'm just glad that you're okay." She said, relaxing visibly. She gazed at her daughter for a moment with sad eyes.

"What's wrong mom?" Chisaki asked, concerned at the change.

"Nothing, honey…" She said evenly, her voice hollow. She shook her head after a moment, and when she looked up to meet her daughter's eyes it was with a smile. "What do you want for dinner?" She asked, suddenly rather chipper as she moved towards the kitchen. "I could make lasagna, or spaghetti, or chicken noodle soup. I know that it's been getting rather cold lately and with the way you were sleeping outside, I wouldn't want you to get sick."

Chisaki took her mother's sudden change in stride; mentally filing it into her box of worries, for later inspection.

"I think that that chicken soup sounds good." She responded with a smile. "Do you want a hand making it? I've always wanted to learn how you make the best soup in the world."

Her mother gave a hearty laugh. "Of course, honey!" She exclaimed, happily. "The more the merrier."

An hour later the pair sat down at the dinner table, bowls of warm soup steaming alluringly.

"This looks so good!"

"Well, it is the family recipe." Inko said with a bright smile, as she brought a spoonful to her lips. Chisaki took a mouthful of her own, ravenous. After a moment her eyes went wide with delight.

"Oh my god! I think it's even better than the usual!"

Her mother's smile widened. "It must be all the love you put into it."

"You mean, all the love that you put into it." Chisaki said back.

Her mother laughed and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence as they savored their meal.

After a moment, Chisaki noticed that her mother had stopped eating.

Inko's gaze had become unfocused for a moment as she stared at the wooden table listlessly.

"What's wrong mom?" Chisaki asked, setting down her spoon in concern.

Her mother looked up slowly, as if preparing herself to deliver grave news. "Honey, I got a promotion today." She said slowly, as if testing the words on her lips.

"That sounds great! I'm so happy for you." Chisaki exclaimed energetically, but seeing her mother's solemn demeanor, she grew hesitant. "That is a good thing, isn't it?"

Inko sighed. "I'm going to be working even more late nights at the hospital. So… I'll be out until two in the morning, Monday through Thursday." She gave another sigh and began to finger her skirt nervously. "Earlier, I was talking to Mitsuki, Katsuki's mother. She said that the Bakugo's would be happy to have you over for dinner on Mondays and Wednesdays. For the first week or two, I'll be able to make you meals ahead of time and leave them for you in the fridge; but, beyond that, you'll have to fix yourself something." She paused for a moment, her gaze had gradually dropped back to the table, and she covered her face with her hands. "I feel like such a failure as a mother."

Chisaki's heart was in her throat. "Don't say that!" She exclaimed. "You're wonderful mom! You care about me so much and you're always working yourself to the bone. You can't beat yourself up about this."

Inko looked up from her hands, and Chisaki saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"You don't hate me?"

Chisaki stood up and moved around the table. Crouching down and wrapping her arms around her mother, as she pulled her into a hug.

"How could I hate you?" Chisaki whispered. "You're the best mom anyone could ask for."

Inko gave a sob and buried her face into her daughter's shoulder.

"You really mean that?" She asked through the fabric.

"Of course, mom."

With a sob, the woman devolved into tears filled with exhaustion and guilt.

An hour later, Inko had gone to bed and Chisaki stood alone in the kitchen, washing the dishes. She wasn't entirely sure how to feel about her mother's breakdown.

On one hand it was nice that she was being open about how she felt. After all, it would have been much worse if her mother had kept her emotions hidden from her. On the other... Well, she had so much on her mind; like whether to apply to UA and this villain thing with Sensei.

Oh, wait, Sensei had given her a phone number to call. Where had she put that paper?

She put the bowl she had been washing into the sink, quickly dried her hands on her pants, and began to run her hands through her pockets.

After a minute of manic searching, she found the page folded neatly in her back pocket.

She drew it out and unfolded it. Scrolled across the page in a slanted script was a string of numbers.

Chisaki flipped out her phone and quickly created a new contact, registering the phone number under the name 'BartenderBoy'. Sensei had said that this was a way to contact Kurogiri and since Kurogiri was dressed as a bartender…

She couldn't help but smile, it would be her little inside joke with herself. Suddenly, she felt rather lame; No normal person would find a joke with themselves funny. Chisaki thought, then she shrugged. Who cares? I'm not going to judge myself. I would rather be best friends with myself than worst enemies.

The rest of the night passed fitfully for Chisaki. While she had gotten to bed at the remarkably reasonable time of 9:30 pm, she had been having weird dreams about being a toddler playing with green slime or looking in the mirror and seeing her face scarred beyond recognition. By the time she rolled out of bed, at a little past 7:00 am, she felt poorly rested and drained. On any normal day, Chisaki would have just gone back to sleep. But, throughout her night her bed had felt like a torturous prison to which she had subjected herself unreasonably; so, she preferred to be doing something, instead of being constricted by those sheets.

She sat down at her computer, scrolling through the hero news sites.

"Come on," She muttered to herself. "Let there be something on here. Come on, I need something…" Then she found it, one of the sites had been pinged at 6:30. Kamui woods had been seen confronting a pair of violent bank robbers by the train station, and the situation had shown no signs of deescalating.

"Perfect!" Chisaki exclaimed as she changed out of her PJ's, grabbed her trusty notebook (For the Future: Hero Analysis #13), and sprinted out of her bedroom.

"Bye mom, I'll be right back." She exclaimed as she charged through the living room. "I'm just going down to the train station to check something out." Her mom's voice caught her when she was forced to pause and pull her shoes on at the entree way.

"Is it another one of those hero fights? You know how I feel about you going to those." Inko said disapprovingly from the couch.

Chisaki rolled her eyes and bounced excitedly, reaching for the door. "Don't worry mom, I'll be sure to be extra careful!" She called over her shoulder as she turned the handle.

And with that she shot out the door before her mother could protest further.

Chisaki sprinted the whole way to the train station, pushing her lungs and her legs to their limits.

Come on! She thought desperately as she ran. I just need a few seconds. Even if the fight is already ending, I just need to see some heroes in action!

When a throng appeared in view, Chisaki gave a gasp of delight. She dragged her feet to an inelegant, fumbling, stop and took the opportunity to finally catch her breath and admire the situation.

'Admire' was a strong word. Wonder turned to dread when she saw the damages.

Several buildings were on fire and two ambulances were parked only a few feet away, each surrounded by groups of frantic paramedics. A man on a stretcher lay to her left, Chisaki's stomach gave a nauseating flip when she saw that the man was bleeding from his head and his left arm was bent at an unnatural angle. A paramedic knelt over him.

The situation was obviously much more dire than the alert had suggested.

Chisaki tried to get a glance at the battle, hoping that maybe the situation was improving somewhat, but the group of people were pressed so close together that she couldn't get close.

When some firefighters, led by water hero Backdraft, showed up and needed to get by, the mob parted to let them pass; and Chisaki got a brief glance at the situation.

Kamui Woods seemed injured, one of his arms hung limp at his side, and he was shooting branches at a pair of men who had taken refuge behind a capsized car. One of the two men either had a fire producing quirk or a weapon to produce flames, because fire shot out at Kamui. The hero moved back in an attempt to dodge-

Then the crowd began to close up again. Chisaki cursed under her breath and ran forwards, aiming to get into the center of the throng before the gap closed completely. She must have made it just in time, because she ran into someone and bodies were suddenly jostling her restlessly, pressing in on her. The whole situation was rather claustrophobic.

Now she could see even less of the fight, just the shirt of the guy in front of her and the arm of the dude next to her.

I need to push my way through!Chisaki thought decidedly. She began to shove her way through the gap between the people in front of her.

"Excuse me." Or "Sorry about this." She murmured in apology as she squeezed her way through the crowd. Chisaki gave one final shove and she was through, she took a deep breath of unoppressive air before properly observing the ongoing battle, her excitement mounting at the sight of it.

Before her, the fight raged in favor of the villains. One of the villains, he looked to have a shark face for a head and held a gun that spewed flames, was still targeting the wounded Kamui Woods.

At first, the other villain was nowhere to be seen. Backdraft seemed to be attempting to aid Kamui in his struggle against the flamethrower and its wielder, but had to shift his attention when the second robber reappeared and began to throw chunks of rubble at him and the crowd.

Chisaki whipped out her notebook and began to scribble down notes as she observed the fight's progress.

"The second robber's quirk must be something akin to super strength. The robber with the flamethrower has no discernable quirk, but seems to have the upper hand purely because Kamui's wood is extremely weak to fire. If Backdraft and Kamui were to switch opponents, they would have a better chance of winning.

"This situation highlights one of Kamui's major flaws as a hero, he has no way of fighting an opponent with access to fire. Also, he seems to have a problem with overreliance on his quirk, he isn't making any headway since his opponent just burns what he throws at them. If Kamui had some kind of gear or hand to hand combat skills to fight with, he would be doing much better. For now, it just looks like he plans to dodge and run until his opponent runs out of energy or incendiary solution. I'm just not sure if Kamui will be able to last that long.

"Backdraft appears to be attempting to distract his opponent with sots of water, in order to keep the crowd safe. He also seems to be trying to hit the fires when possible-"

"Hey, kid cut that out. Can't you see that this situation is serious." A man growled down at her in reproach.

She blinked in surprise at being interrupted in such a way. "Oh, I'm sorry sir. I didn't realize that I was bothering you."

"Bothering me? You're just downright creepy. You should be in a mental institution!"

Another voice came from behind her.

"Hey!" Another man said. "Let the poor girl be, she's not hurting anyone. Besides, the heroes will figure things out like they always do."

The grumpy man looked like he was about to say something when a thundering voice cut him off.

"Hello, dear citizens!" Came the call, as a man soared above them, his hulking figure temporarily silhouetted as he blocked out the sun.

This new hero landed in the street with a resounding crack. The pavement shattered into a crater at the impact, and a cloud of dust enveloped him.

Chisaki gasped, That figure, that voice, that flashy arrival….It can't be….but it must be…it's got to be him!

The dust began to clear in dramatic wisps, to reveal a blue and red, skin-tight, suit and a muscular form; accentuated by those two unmistakable, vertical pointing, blonde tufts of hair.

"Worry not, For I Am Here!"

And it was him!

"All Might." She said breathlessly.

It was All Might, in the flesh. The Hero of Heroes himself stood before her.

The robbers and the heroes alike were frozen. The two robbers seemed practically paralyzed with fear, while Kamui relaxed a bit, and Backdraft finally turned his attention towards the fires that threatened to consume some of the surrounding buildings.

"Now then," All Might said in that carrying voice. "You two villains, I have a suggestion for you. Turn yourselves in to the authorities and no one here needs to get hurt."

The two villains shared a look, and Chisaki gave a guess on what they were thinking; something like, 'if we're going down anyways, let's go down fighting'. She must have been right, because one man sprayed fire with his flamethrower while the other threw a car at the newly arrived hero.

Both attempts at an attack were in vain, of course, but Chisaki had to give them props for their guts.

All Might made sure to stay out of reach of the gun, with its spitting fire, and caught the flying car before putting it down carefully.

The villain with the super strength threw another projectile, a chunk of concrete with iron bars protruding from it. All Might caught it and hurled it back at the man, who managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth.

"Come now, lads, do we really need to keep going like this?" All Might asked sympathetically. "I don't want to have to get serious here."

The villains, of course, didn't answer.

The great hero sighed. "All right then. But don't say I didn't warn you."

There was a flash of movement and All Might seemed to disappear for a split second, then he reappeared just behind the flamethrower wielding villain. All Might pulled his arm back and let loose a terrifying punch at the Villain's feet.

There was a sound, like the clap of thunder, and a wind so strong that it knocked the villain clean off his feet; Chisaki thought that she had even caught a little breeze from her position on the sidelines. She expected the villain to get back up, but he stayed down, immobile and unconscious.

With one of the villain's incapacitated, All Might turned to the other, the poor man was shaking as he stood only a few feet away, only now realizing the danger he had subjected himself to.

"You don't have to get hurt. You can still surrender." All Might said graciously.

The man nodded shakily, "I-I surrender."

The police must have shown up at some point, because a handful of officers ran forward and proceeded to handcuff the villain who was still conscious and led him away. Another officer followed close behind them with the comatose partner in his arms.

All Might then turned to the crowd of onlookers, with his trademark smile shining brightly.

"Is everyone else alright?" He asked with his booming voice. "If any of you need medical attention the paramedics are just over there, please see them if you are injured."

Taking this as their cue, a wave of reporters bled through the crowd and began to run towards him.

"All Might!" One of them called. And then another, "All Might!", and another, "All Might!", each was clamoring for some exclusive insight from the Number 1 hero.

All Might smiled but didn't seem to quite respond to them. "Well, I apologize, but I have somewhere I need to be, at the moment. Um- and I hope that all of you have a good day!"

With that he darted away, narrowly avoiding the advancing wave of eager reporters and journalists.

Chisaki watched him approach the corner at the end of the block.

Why is he in such a hurry? She thought in bewilderment. Then something occurred to her as she looked down at her notebook. Oh! I should follow him and see if I can get his autograph! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity after all, and I might never meet All Might in person again!

Chisaki had to once again shoulder her way through the crowd, though it was definitely easier getting out that it had been getting in.

She sprinted her way down the pavement and around firefighters, onlookers, and paramedics. Chisaki watched in slow motion as her hero turned the corner.

No, no, no. Wait All Might, don't go! I need to get your autograph.

She turned the corner. There he was, taking another turn. For just a moment, she got a flash of his face in profile, he looked oddly distressed.

Chisaki knew that place he'd darted into, that was a dead-end alleyway, All Might would have nowhere to go.

I'm going to meet All Might. I'm going to meet All Might. I'm Going to Meet All Might!

She was almost there now. She sped up.

I'm not going to let this chance slip!

She turned the corner and almost shouted in alarm. She must have taken that corner too fast because as soon as she'd twisted sideways, her feet flew out from under her and she went flying sideways. Chisaki only got a glimpse of the alleyway, before she crashed into a pile of trash bags.

That was real elegant, Chisaki. Now All Might's totally going to want to talk to you, now that you've proven yourself to be a bumbling fool, who definitely smells like trash!

She gave a groan and rubbed her bruised tail-bone.

"Are you okay?" A raspy voice asked her.

Chisaki looked up in surprise at the speaker. They were very clearly not who she'd expected to see. The man who stood before her was almost skeletal with his thin, unhealthily protruding cheekbones and shaggy blond hair that stuck out awkwardly around his head. He had one hand on his chest, clutching his abdomen below his baggy white shirt as if in pain. His small blue eyes watched her with an honest concern, and they were focused on her expectantly.

"Oh- um, I'm fine." She sputtered nervously, her gaze moving behind the man as she scanned her surroundings for All Might's hulking figure.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that." The man said with a smile.

"Thank you for your concern." Chisaki said absentmindedly. "But, by any chance, have you seen All Might? I'm sure that I saw him pass through here."

The man's smile dropped an inch and she could see some worry in his eyes.

"Um, All Might? No, I haven't seen him…I mean, I'm definitely not him? Or related to him in any way?" The man said with a nervous laugh.

Okay, that's kind of a strange reaction…Chisaki thought, perplexed. But this guy can't be All Might…All Might would never look like this. I mean, this guy looks like he would break in two if you so much as nudged him wrong!

"Sure…" Chisaki said awkwardly as she ran her eyes over the alley again.

Everything looks normal, just a bunch of trash and stray garbage- wait a second!

There was a suspicious splash of colorful fabric poking out between a bit of trash in the corner of the alleyway.

"What's that?" She asked, getting up and stumbling towards that bit of blue fabric.

"Oh, that's nothing! Totally not related to All Might!" The strange man said nervously, waving his hands in a panicked frenzy.

Chisaki passed him, focused entirely on her new target of interest. She reached down and pulled that bit of material, gingerly. Soon, she was holding a complete All Might suit.

She turned to the man, perplexed. "What the hell?" She asked, looking between the weak little man and the suit All Might always wore. She ran her fingers over it, it wasn't a cheap reproduction.

"Please give that to me, young lady." The man said, polite yet serious.

Chisaki ignored him. Her mind was too busy working, connecting outlandish dot to outlandish dot.

All Might has disappeared…This shady guy is the only one here…He acted strangely when I mentioned All Might…He had All Might's costume…this man even shares some hazy physical characteristics with All Might, the blond hair, blue eyes, even that serious tone reminds me of All Might's.

Chisaki took a deep breath as dread settled in her stomach. She locked eyes with the strange man, "Hey… A-are you All Might?"

The man looked away from her, "Me? All Might? No, there's no way." He was midway through a nervous laugh when he devolved into a violent coughing fit. Flecks of something red splattered across his lips.

"Are you okay?" Chisaki asked, alarmed.

Is that blood? Do I need to call an ambulance!?

"I-" Cough"-I'm fine, this is… normal." He said shakily, as he wiped away the blood with the back of his hand.

A silence fell between them, Chisaki watching the man in worry that he might go back to coughing up blood while he studied the floor thoughtfully. He was gnawing nervously at his lower lip, obviously mulling something over.

After a moment, he looked up suddenly, his eyes particularly bright and determined. "I take back what I just said. I lied. My name is Toshinori Yagi." His tone was decidedly calm as he dropped some of the most devastating words she had ever heard. "I am All Might… "

Chisaki's mind reeled. What? No. All Might? You? How?

No. No. No. That's not possible! -But he even admitted it. It has to be. Everything points to this being the truth.

The number one hero, my hero, is a weak, wounded man?

"You might be wondering how I became like this?" Toshinori began calmly.

Chisaki could only watch in horror as he lifted the corner of his baggy shirt, to reveal a crater-like wound on his abdomen.

"This," He began, "Is a wound that was given to me seven years ago by a terrible villain. Because of this I have had to go through multiple surgeries and most of my internal organs have been heavily damaged… As a result, my operating hours as a hero have been severely limited, and when that time is up I return to looking like this."

Chisaki watched him, left utterly without words. She just didn't know what to say to him. My biggest hero, the person who I wanted to be like the most, he… he's not omnipotent…he's human…Ok. Yeah that's rational…Right? I mean it's unreasonable to expect him to never get injured or anything...But I just… I wasn't expecting this…

"Very few people know about my condition, and you seem like an astute young woman, so I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't share this information with others." Toshinori said slowly, watching the girl across from him inquisitively.

Chisaki nodded slowly, still trying to take in what this revelation really meant.

"How-" She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "How does no one know about this yet? That All Might, the number one hero, is so ill that he is coughing up blood?"

Toshinori gave her a small smile. "Well, because I asked that my condition not be made public… I want people to feel safe! If the people knew that their Symbol of Peace was just as mortal as them, they'd feel vulnerable and defenseless. I want to bring people a sense of security."

"Is that why you're still a hero, even though you're so hurt?" Chisaki asked, meeting his eyes with a quiet boldness.

"Exactly!" He said, his smile widening. "As a hero, it is my duty to the people to smile and fearlessly defend them."

Something that Sensei had said gnawed at her. He had mentioned something about the hero's smiling for the camera…. Judging from Tohsinori's account, that was entirely true… I do feel a bit betrayed, but I don't blame All Might… The system that pushed him to shine more has pushed people like me further into the shadows… I simply drew the short end of the stick.

I need to talk to Sensei, see if he has anything more to say about this…

"Well, if you'll excuse me young woman…Oh, I'm sorry, I never caught your name." He said politely.

Chisaki cleared her head and smiled shakily for her fallen idol. "Chisaki Midoriya."

"Well, it has been a pleasure young Midoriya, but I have somewhere I need to be. Ah- and may I have that suit back." He asked, pointing awkwardly at the sagging fabric that she still held in her hands.

Chisaki blinked and turned red in surprise, she hadn't even realized that she was still holding it. "Oh, of course."

"Thank you once again. I hope to see you soon." Toshinori said, with a friendly wave, and he turned the corner; he was gone.

It took Chisaki a moment to process that All Might had just left.

"Oh Shit! I forgot to get his autograph!" She exclaimed to the empty alley.

She sighed and started walking home, defeated. Maybe I should have asked him if I could be a hero…

Chisaki was almost home when it occurred to her to call Kurogiri. She pulled out her phone and called the number under the contact "bartender boy". She felt her spirits lift a bit when she saw the contact name, Awww, good old personal jokes…

He picked up almost immediately. "Hello?"

"Kurogiri, it's me Chisaki." She said nervously rubbing her arm. "I'd like to talk later today, can I meet you at Sakura park, at four?"

There was a pause. "Sure, I'll meet you then."

There was a click as he hung up, and Chisaki was left alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that suddenly overwhelmed her and sent her legs shaking.

* * *

Hello again dear reader, it is your bum of an author, Option A...

yeah, okay, sorry about being two days behind schedule, this whole weekly updates thing is really hard to keep up with. But hey, I hope that this extra long chapter makes up for the wait(to the few of you who might actually be waiting for this).

SO about the story. Some facts have been shifted: All Might and All For One fought seven years ago, as opposed to the five years ago in the manga. There might also be some slight discrepancies with dates and things, like All For One's age, its all in accordance to this stories cannon(just kind of like a forewarning to those who might want to complain about this later).

I'm also feeling like I should have just started this out so much faster. Most fics are at this point like by mid chapter one or two...I feel like a turd drawing this out for my characters. To you, readers who have gotten this far in this slow start, thank you! T-T

Also, I need to know if anyone wants me to change Chisaki's name? Is anyone at all bothered by this, except for that one guest? I could change Chisaki's gender too, just make this an average Villain Deku fic... honestly not as keen on that last idea... but its still doable, I guess.

I just really want to know before, like, chapter seven.

Okay, thats it for this week folks. Come back next week for an update on Chisaki's fall to villainhood (Is that a word? Spellcheck doesn't like it...okay, whatever).


	6. Shock

Chisaki held the phone in her hand with a loose fingered grip. Her legs were now shaking so bad that she was afraid that they would give out completely.

 _W-what is wrong with me?_

 _I-I probably just need to sit down._

She staggered her way over to a bench along the side of the park and collapsed onto it. As she sank down onto the bench, her phone began to vibrate. She spared a glance at the screen, it was her mom.

She let it ring.

It began as a prickling in her chest as the shock of the situation wore off and the gravity of the revelations sunk in.

 _All Might is not All Might…_

 _All Might is a crippled, stick, of a man…_

 _My whole world has been a lie…_

 _My hopes and dreams of heroism, a simple fanfare for an actor and a fraud._

Chisaki frowned and shook her head, revaluating her thought; _Well maybe not a **fraud**_ , _he has genuinely succeeded in protecting the people and seems to care about the people he serves_ ; _at least enough to know how the reality would break their hearts._

 _In the same way that its breaking mine?_

She gave a groan of regret and pulled her knees up to her chest, her throat began to close up, as it often did before a panic attack. She was beginning to shake now too.

 _Why did I follow him? I should have just left All Might alone…I wish I'd never met Tashinori Yagi. I want my naïvete back! I want to go back to thinking that everything would be fine just as long as All Might was the number one hero…_

 _I want to go back to thinking that I could be a hero!_

Chisaki's eyes stung with tears and she buried her face in her arms.

 _I want to believe in heroism. That if I could be selfless like All Might, I deserved to be a hero. That just as long as I kept a steady heart and thought about other people that it would be possible._

Tears streamed down her face.

 _But to be a hero, you have to be strong, pretty, and popular. I can't be any of those stupid things._

 _I don't have a quirk! I'm not anyone important! My dream of becoming a hero was justified only by the thought that a good person makes a good hero._

 _I was such an idiot! Such an idiot!_

 _I still_ _am…_

Chisaki jumped as something buzzed against her leg. She picked up her head cautiously, wiping at her eyes and her nose as she dragged her gaze to the bench.

Her phone was ringing again.

 _I should really answer that…_

She picked up the phone cautiously, wiping at her nose again and giving a sniffle. It was her mom, yet again.

Chisaki cleared her throat and tested her voice.

 _"_ Good, I probably look like a mess, but at least I don't sound like I've been crying _."_ She whispered to herself with a pitiful little chuckle as she swiped at her nose again.

She sat up straight and took a second to collect herself, before sliding her finger across the screen and picking up.

"Hey mom…" She said slowly, unsure of how her mother would respond.

"Honey? Are you okay? You didn't go near the fight by the train station, did you? The news stations are broadcasting footage from the scene. It looks so horrible! Oh! You didn't get hurt right? Why didn't you pick up? I was getting so scared, thinking of you trapped in one of those burning buildings." She paused for a moment and Chisaki just stared, dazed, at the gravel around her feet. "Honey? You are okay, right?"

Chisaki blinked and drew herself out of her daze. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I didn't go anywhere near the burning buildings. B-besides, when I got there, the f-firefighters had already put out most of the fires." She lied.

Her mother gave an audible sigh of relief. "Thank God! I almost had a heart attack. Just pick up earlier, I think I lost a year or two of my life just now." She said with a flippant laugh.

Chisaki sent back a feeble chuckle. "I-I'll see you soon mom. I'm already on my way home."

"Great. Are you hungry? I can warm up some soup if you want some."

"Sure mom, that sounds, um, _great_."

"Okay then, see you soon."

"Bye."

"Bye Honey."

There was a click and the line went dead.

Chisaki sighed and rubbed her eyes, before standing up, ready to drag herself home.

Fifteen minutes later, she was opening her front door, perfectly composed and smiling.

"Hey mom, I'm back." She said as she walked into the entree-way. "Is that soup still warm?"

"Of course, Honey." Her mom called from inside the house.

Chisaki found her mom in the kitchen, smiling as she stirred a warming pot of soup. Inko turned away from the stove at the sight of her daughter, beaming.

"Welcome home honey. You were in such a rush earlier that you didn't get breakfast, and since its almost lunch time, I thought that you must be ravenous."

"Thanks mom, I am pretty hungry." Chisaki said, smiling as her mom served her a bowl of soup.

"You were so excited earlier. So, did you do what you needed to do?"

"Yes." Chisaki said, taking a stiff bite of food. "I just wanted to get some notes about the fighting."

Her mother's face brightened as she took a seat across from her daughter, a bowl of soup in her own hand. "I heard that All Might showed up. Did you see him?"

A cold shock ran down Chisaki's spine.

 _Why did she have to mention him?_

A lump rose in her throat.

 _What do I say?_ _I shouldn't let her see that I'm nervous about All Might._

Chisaki smiled extra wide, so much so that it forced her despondent eyes closed, and she set her voice into a high pitch of excitement, making sure to move her hands in an exaggerated motion. "He was so cool! He was only there for a few seconds, but he defeated both the villains and then he just disappeared. It was just _amazing_!"

"I'm so glad to hear that. You just love All Might so much, I can only imagine how happy you are." Inko said with a smile.

"I'm really glad that I saw him today!" Chisaki exclaimed childishly. Then she looked down at her soup, and felt her stomach turn in revulsion.

"Mom, you know what? I'm not all that hungry anymore. I think I'll go take a shower." She said in that same forced elation as before.

"Okay, honey." Her mother said, still smiling.

Chisaki stood and did her best to hide her shaking hands as she walked past her mom, _I need to get away from her, I can't take any more questions. I just need to get to my room, to my safe space, where I can relax._  
Chisaki was just a step from her room, two feet from safety, when her mom's voice came from behind her.

"Honey?"

Chisaki's heart jumped into her throat. _Did she notice that I was faking my smiles? Does she know that something is wrong?_

"Actually, I'm going to head out in a minute. I'm going to meet up with Katsuki's mom, I probably won't be back before dinner. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

Chisaki looked over her shoulder and forced a smile. "Of course, mom."

When Inko didn't respond immediately, Chisaki took the opportunity to dart into her room.

She closed the door behind her and let her smile drop.

 _God Damn It!_ She thought in anger, her legs started to shake and a sob began rising in her throat. _I can't take this. Of course, I can't show her how upset I am, she would get worried and start pestering me and then she'd ask about All Might, and I can't even bear to hear his name right now, much less talk about him. I mean, I don't want to talk about All Might, but I need to. I feel like I'm going crazy bottling these thoughts up._

She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself.

 _I just need to wait until four. Yeah. Then Kurogiri will pick me up and I'll be able to talk to Sensei again. He'll understand how I'm feeling. He'll let me get these thoughts out to someone, even if he is a questionable character._

When four p.m. rolled around, Chisaki was at Sakura park, waiting on a bench and feeling quite anxious. She looked around curiously, expecting a black portal to materialize suddenly before her, but no such thing occurred. For a moment, she worried that Kurogiri would simply never come to pick her up. Then, her phone rang.

She picked up immediately. "Where are you?" She asked in a forced calm.

"Its nice to hear from you." Kurogiri said in that polite way he had. "If you would please look to your left."  
Chisaki did as she was instructed, very much confused.

"Now. You'll see a wood shed."

"The one with the broken window?" She asked.

"Yes. Go behind it on the left side, that's where you'll see my portal."

Chisaki stood and walked over to the shed, around the left side, and there it was. The, rather intimidating looking, swirling pool of black.

"Found it. I'll see you in a second." Chisaki said as she hung up and stepped through the vortex.

When she emerged, she attempted to reorient herself. She was in the same bar that she had been in yesterday but Sensei was not there, nor was Kurogiri. The only soul was a figure in a black hoody, perched on a stool, he was hunched over the bar, fixated on a phone which sat on the bar top, leaning against a cup of steaming coffee.

 _Is that Giran? No, Giran doesn't sit like that._

Chisaki thought, surprised by this strange character.

 _Then who else could it be?_

 _Oh, there was a fourth guy yesterday, the one who didn't want to look at me. What was his name again? Um, Shashagaki kamura? Right?_

 _No. That doesn't sound right._

 _Shigariki? Oh! Shigaraki! There we go._

Chisaki looked at the man again, he hadn't stirred, but was now tapping irritatedly at the phone, and had not seemed to notice her entry or inactivity in the least.

For a moment she just stood there dumbly, unsure of what to do with herself in the presence of someone who had before expressed such disinterest in her that she could have easily believed that he hated her.

"U-um, Sh-shigaraki, right?" She began awkwardly, in an attempt to test the ice.

The man stopped his tapping and stiffened, but made no further acknowledgment that he had heard her.

"I, um, thought that I was supposed to be meeting with Sensei," Chisaki started, as she began to fidget nervously with the sleeves of her shirt. "W-would you happen to know where I could find him?"

Shigaraki gave an agitated, almost angry, growl of impatience. He turned towards her suddenly and shot her a glare. For a moment Chisaki thought that he was going to shout something at her, but then he stopped himself, looked away, and instead said, in a very calm voice, "I have been instructed to entertain you while Sensei takes care of something." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Was all Chisaki could say, taken aback.

A moment of awkward silence passed between them, Shiagaraki staring at some point off to his left, his posture stiff, and Chisaki's eyes wandering around uncomfortably.

"Well, m-may I sit next to you?" Chisaki asked, trying to gage Shigaraki's reaction.

Shigaraki gave no perceptible reaction, but after a second he gave a grunt of assent and turned around, back to his phone.

 _Well, now what do I do with myself? He obviously doesn't want me anywhere near him, but I can't keep standing here. So, I guess that I'll… just sit down. I mean, he gave me some kind of 'ok', so he won't get mad at me. Right?_

She approached the bar stiffly. She eyed a stool a seat over from Shigaraki, and sat down gingerly.

For a moment she expected this man in the hoody to explode again, but when he didn't even acknowledge her existence, Chisaki relaxed, content to wait until Sensei was ready.

 _This Shigaraki kid seems like a pretty angry guy. Explosive personality and all that. He's kinda like Kachaan._ This thought brought a wave of revulsion up her throat.

 _Na, Kachaan has his own level of…douchy-ness._

Chisaki let her eyes wander to Shigaraki's face as her thoughts drifted.

The longer she looked at his face, the more she noticed certain things. _He has scars_. She thought in startled wonder, seeing a faint scar going over his right eye and a more noticeable one bisecting his lips. _I wonder what those are from. Is there a story there? Should I ask him?_

 _No, he would probably yell at me._

 _I wonder if he's getting enough sleep? His eyes are so sunken in and his lips are absolutely shredded. Those are definite signs of stress._ She gave a sigh. _He looks like he could use a good night of sleep and some chapstick._

 _So…I guess…well…, never mind, he's nothing like Kachaan. Kachaan is always so egocentric, it's always his care above everyone else's needs. I'd say that this guy is definitely carrying his own baggage and some kind of responsibility._

 _Didn't Kurogiri mention something like that yesterday?_

 _Sensei also mentioned a protégée to carry on his dream, Shigaraki couldn't be his protégée, right? If he is, then he has a really long way to go to being a good leader. He should start with being nicer to people…_

"What are you looking at?" Shigaraki asked with a cold anger, making Chisaki jump.

She didn't know what to say to him, and when she didn't respond immediately he gave her a deep glare.

"What? You think I look like a **monster** , don't you?" It wasn't really a question, it was an accusation. "You think I look like a freak." He was looking at her now with such revulsion that Chisaki's mind was sent reeling.

 _Where did this come from? What did I do?_

"Yeah I thought so." He scoffed at her and turned away. "Your just a spineless, conformist, nobody. I really don't understand what Sensei sees in you!" He said with a disdainful shake of his head.

Chisaki's expression hardened and anger boiled up from her gut, indignant. "I may be a _nobody_ b-but am _not_ a spineless conformist! In fact, I didn't think that you looked like a freak at all! Instead, I was just thinking that perhaps you were someone who had been through something. That maybe you could use a break from some stress I couldn't see. But, I guess that I'll just be taking that back then! If your going to make a judgement on _my_ character, after only having spoken _two_ words to me, then don't expect me to make a kind judgement on _yours_!" She spat at the boy.

Shigaraki stared at her in narrow eyed suspicion, fury bubbling just under his skin.

"Oh, and what makes **you** think that you're any more worthy to pass a judgement on me, than I on you?" He said in a barely contained rage.

 _Shit! Now he's angry. Why did I even open my big mouth?_

"I…I'm not saying that." Chisaki said slowly, before looking away, attempting to avoid a further escalation.

 _I shouldn't have said anything! Now he's angry and I'm stuck here with him._

"Then what **are** you saying?" He spat at her. "If you don't even know that, then how can you expect to convince me?" He watched her with cold and spiteful eyes.

"I-I was just thinking, th-that," Chisaki shifted nervously and looked down at her shaking hands, before clenching them into fists. "I-If you j-judge me, then you should also be prepared to receive judgement. Likewise, if you wanted to avoid harsh judgement then you should first be inviting and kind."

Shigaraki gave a snort of disdain and watched her for a second, scrutinizing her with his little bloodshot eyes.

"L-look I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you!" Chisaki exclaimed nervously, trying to fix any damage that she might have caused.

"Whatever." Shigaraki said with another snort and a rolling of his eyes, before turning around.

"I guess that you really are just a wimp."

Chisaki watched him turn away, confused and hurt.

The silence returned, now thick and menacing. Shigaraki and Chisaki sat side by side, the first entertaining himself gleefully and the second resigned to a suffocating sense of helplessness.

This was how Kurogiri found the pair a few minutes later.

"Chisaki," Kurogiri began, while he observed the two apprehensively; Shigaraki hadn't bothered to turn around and Chisaki had turned around at a blinding speed and was already half way off her stool, impatient to get away from the bar. "Sensei is ready to see you." He finished, motioning towards the portal behind him

She jumped down quickly, smiling in relief.

"Thank you, Kurogiri." Chisaki said before rushing past him and disappearing.

A silence now hung between the bartender and the young man.

"Well?" Kurogiri asked expectantly after a moment, breaking the silence. "What did you think of her?"

Shigaraki sighed, set his phone down, turned around, and rolled his eyes. "I think that Sensei's made a mistake. We can't use a naïve, _inexperienced_ , **child**. Especially not one who spouts such flowery things like 'if you want people to be nice go you, be nice to them first~.'" He said in a cheesy falsetto before giving a snort of contempt. "Send her back to her 'hero pep-rallies' or wherever you found her."

Kurogiri didn't respond for a moment, then he sighed and turned away, walking towards the hall.

"I think that she'll really surprise you, Shigaraki." He murmured over his shoulder.

* * *

AN: Well, first of all, hello.

I know that I've been gone for a good while, tho I doubt that anyone has missed me much. I just needed some time to reevaluate this story and my plans for it. I hope that you haven't given up on this story yet, I know that its slow and inconsistent but please stick with it, I have a lot of plans.

I would like to mention, just before I go, that I would like to make a shout out to Saark, thank you for commenting and for your encouragement, it means a lot to a fledgling writer like my self.

Lastly, have a good Easter(if you celebrate it).

See you again soon,

OptionA


	7. One step for man

Chisaki looked around the room to which the vortex had taken her. She was sure that it was the same room that she had been in just yesterday, but the machinery no longer filled the space and the panels of screens, which covered one of the walls, were all turned off. In the center of the room, a pair of large arm chairs and a coffee table had been set up.

"Good afternoon Chisaki." Sensei said warmly from one of the cushioned arm chairs. "Have a seat and we can get to talking."

"H-hello sensei." She began slowly as she took the seat across from him. She had been waiting to speak to him all day, but now that she was here in front of him, she didn't know what to say. "I-I see that you are not hooked up to your machine today." She said nervously, her eyes trained on her hands.

Sensei smiled kindly. "Yes, and I apologize for my tardiness. It takes hours of preparation and work for me to spend even an hour away from it. I just wanted to have a nice talk with you, away from all of the cables and equipment." He was watching her now, with a keen, but earnest, interest. "Well, that's enough about me. How are you?" He asked gently.

Chisaki didn't respond, still unsure of what to say to him or where to start.

Seeing Chisaki's mute reaction, Sensei instead supplemented some information, in an attempt to coax a reaction out of her. "Kurogiri told me that your voice was _shaking_ when you spoke with him earlier. Can you tell me the reason for that?"

Chisaki's face turned red and she looked up suddenly. "O-oh, I didn't even realize I was… doing that." Chisaki began with a feeble little chuckle. _That's a pretty good place to start_ , she thought. She paused for a moment, before springing into action with a sheepish smile.

"Well, you see, I found something out this morning…" She said quickly, before a realization hit her and her smile dropped, the color draining from her cheeks.

 _What am I doing? I'm just going to tell a_ _ **Villain**_ _about All Might's crippling weakness?_

 _No! That's just insane!_

 _There's no way that I can tell a villain about this, even if that villain is Sensei._

 _But if not Sensei then who? Should I just keep this to myself and keep suffering? Keep letting this tear me apart?_

 _Its only been, what, a few hours? And I already feel like I'm going to burst. Just imagine days. Weeks? Months? Years?_

 _To never be able to tell anyone that the idol of our generation is a liar and a fraud…that's absolutely unimaginable._

 _Would it be so bad to tell just Sensei then? Maybe I can make him promise not to spread this information._

 _But if this gets out, there will be mass riots and chaos. Isn't that exactly what a villain would want?_

 _Does Sensei want that?_

"Chisaki?" A voice asked in concern.

She snapped her head up, startled, to see Sensei leaning towards her, his scarred face twisted in concern.

"Are you doing alright?" He asked softly. "You've gone as pale as a ghost. If this _thing_ is really weighing on you that much, then you should talk about it all the more."

Chisaki swallowed nervously and looked away. "Th-that's just the thing… I don't…don't think that I can talk about it **because** it's such a big deal." She stuttered, unsure.

"What do you mean?" He asked with a raise of his hairless brow.

She bit her lip and scanned Sensei's face, uncertain.

"If I tell you, I need you to promise to keep this a secret from…well… everyone."

Sensei sat back in his chair and watched her for a moment, his head cocked to the side as he thought.

"Very well, I can agree to that." He said with a steady nod.

Chisaki gave a sigh of relief and relaxed.

"Now tell me," He said kindly, "what is troubling you?"

She took a moment to arrange her thoughts.

"I…Well…Where do I start with this?" She began nervously, unsure of how she should approach this topic. "Its about All Mi-" Her voice caught in her throat at his name.

"About All Mi-" She decided to try again, confused.

"All M-" It wasn't getting any better and now her eyes were burning with tears.

 _Come on stupid voice. Why can't I say his name? Its just a name. It's not a big deal. Just say it!_

"All Mi-" This time she was cut off by a vicious sob that had erupted from her chest. "Oh God! What the hell is wrong with me?" Chisaki exclaimed as she buried her face, now dripping with fresh tears, into her shaky hands.

"Forget about his name." Sensei said calmly, his tone concerned but gentle. "Just tell me what you found out about All Might."

Chisaki took a shuddering breath from behind her hands, and removed them from her face with a sniffle. "Y-yes." She said shakily as she swiped at her eyes. "I…" She took a deep breath to steady herself a bit, and launched in with the conclusion. " _He_ isn't all powerful…H-he was severely wounded in a fight, seven years ago, and now hes been reduced to a weak and feeble state." Now the words were beginning to tumble out in a rush, like water rushing through a hole in a dam, widening the hole into a crack, and growing until the dam collapsed under the pressure. Tears were squeezing out of the corners of her eyes but the words had taken on a life of their own and she couldn't stop them now. "The… _him_ that we see on TV is just the scraping together of what's left of his power, but it's all a deception. We won't be safe when a real emergency appears, because he won't be able to defend us. Our safety is just an illusion. And, even worse, I don't think that All Might will recover in this lifetime. So we'r never going to be as safe as we think we are. And, of course, I'm telling all of this to a villain. That sounds like some kind of moral sin. I'm just handing a villain the secret to defeating, if not killing, the number one hero, the protector of peace! That's insane isn't it? I don't even know why I'm doing this. I-"

"Chisaki." Sensei said calmly, cutting through her hysterical raving, "Its okay," He said with a gentle, sad, smile. "I already know."

She stared at him for a moment, frozen in surprise, and all she could get out was a hollow.

"Oh."

Then tears sprung to her eyes.

"Oh, thank God!" She exclaimed in relief, and she gave a shameful, choked, sob. "I don't know what I would have done with myself if…if what I had said had somehow led to him getting killed. But I couldn't just NOT say anything to anyone! I couldn't handle a secret like that."

Sensei smiled reassuringly to her. "Well I'm glad that you told me." A troubled look flashed across his face. "But for you, a pretty standard civilian, to find this out so easily… Toshinori must really be getting sloppy…" He said pensively.

"Do you know All M-…" She paused for a moment, looking frustrated but determined, and took a deep breath. "…All Might?"

"Well, I don't know him on a _personal_ level," Sensei said in this calm and thoughtful way, as if he were picking his words carefully; Chisaki found this small mannerism surprisingly comforting. "But, he and I have been… _opposing_ each other for the past seven or eight years, and you come to know someone pretty well after clashing with them for so long. So, I would say that I know him pretty well."

"Seven or eight years, huh?..." Chisaki said softly, a vague memory creating an itch in a corner of her mind, distracting her from the emotional crash from just a few moments before. "Yesterday, you said that you were injured seven years ago. All Might said that he was injured at the same time. Curious…"

Sensei's brows rose in momentary surprise, before settling, and his pale lips lifted at the corners, a knowing little smile sprouting on them. "And?" He asked, his tone was almost taunting or coy. "Would you like to draw any conclusions?"

Chisaki watched his reactions with confusion. "Conclusions?" She asked, perplexed, before her green eyes went wide with realization and she almost jumped up in surprise. "You knew about All Might's injury and weakness because you caused it! You and All Might fought seven years ago!"  
A pleased smile spread across Sensei's lips. "Yes. Perfect." He glanced behind Chisaki for a moment, before returning his gaze to her.

"Why isn't your fight recorded anywhere? That must have been a massive battle, you and All Might fighting toe to toe." She said, bright eyed and excited just imagining it.

Sensei gave a humorous little laugh from deep in his chest. "A great fight in deed… You know, that little deductive ability of yours is quite impressive. Something like that can't be learned, nor taken lightly. It's a very valuable trait in this dangerous world of ours." A figure appeared from behind Chisaki and Sensei turned to face them. "Oh why hello there Kurogiri. Would that happen to be tea?"

"Yes, an earl grey." The bartender said as he approached.  
Sensei and Chisaki watched as the bartender set down a tray with the customary homely tea set; complete with a pair of tacky mugs, an old tea kettle, and two containers of what Chisaki assumed to be milk and sugar.

"Well, Thank you Kurogiri." Sensei said graciously.

"You are very welcome sir." Kurogiri said courteously. "I did not intend to intrude."

Chisaki watched him as he retreated, curious and a little bit worried, unsure of how long he had been near; she suddenly felt like he could have witnessed something private, something raw and unfiltered.

"How would you like your tea?" Sensei asked kindly, he was leaning over the tea set, pouring the steamy, dark, tea into the mugs.

"Um a full scoop of sugar and a dash of milk." She said absentmindedly as she turned around.

"Got it." He responded, as he scooped in the sugar he kept talking. "You know what? I like doing these little things. Even though I can't live like I used and I can't leave my house, it's nice to be able to have discussions like this and just play host for a few hours. Its strange to think that I was someone who was feared at one point in my life. I liked to think that if life were a videogame I would have been the last boss. But here I am now, sitting and serving tea to an astute young woman."

Chisaki gave a light little laugh. "Well thank you for the compliment Sensei, it feels like such high praise coming from you." She gave an airy sigh. "Its kind of strange for me to think about too. If you had told me a week ago, that I was going to be having tea with Sensei, the man who has inspired me for the past six years, and that he was the villain who crippled All Might, I would have called you crazy and called the police." She said with a laugh.

Sensei smiled too and gave the teas a stir with a spoon, before pouring a dash of milk into each.

"Chisaki, this is for you." He said as he offered a mug to her.

She found herself smiling wide as she accepted it.

"Thank you." She said, noticing that there was a little drawing of an apple on the side of the mug, the kind of red apple that you would see on a teacher's desk. It made her wonder if Sensei had ever been a real 'sensei', like a proper teacher. She tried to imagine him standing at the front of a classroom, trying to explain polynomials to teenagers, and found a laugh bubbling up from her chest.

The two enjoyed the comfortable silence for a moment.

Chisaki held her mug snuggly between her hands.

"It's strange." She began thoughtfully. "Now I just feel so… _light_ , so much lighter than I did before… It's so bizarre because I've lost my idol and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself after this, but… I'm not really worried about it." She said as a bright smile spread across her face.

"What do you mean?" Sensei asked with a tilt of his head, cradling his own mug as if to absorb its warmth.

"Well, my whole life, heroes have been my crutch. I've only been able to drag myself through the daily torment, through the bullying from my only 'friend' and the lying to my mom, because I was sure that one day I would become a hero. Because there was always that promise that no matter what happened in my life, the heroes would always fix things in the end.

"All Might was the sign that I could achieve my dream, that being a good person would make me a hero, just like him. But, now, most of that is worthless… debatable at best. And, I guess that… on some level that's okay. Reality is hard and cold, its not a light fluffy dream where you can be expected to be shielded from pain." She said it with a small, almost airy, laugh.

Sensei raised his brow in amusement. "Well that was rather _dark_ …" He shifted in his chair, crossing his legs; this posture reminded Chisaki of a businessman she had seen on a tv show a while ago. "So, what do you think that you'll do with yourself from here on out, without your blind faith in heroes?"

Chisaki took a long sip from her mug of tea as she pondered the question, her eyes fixed blankly on the coffee table and her smile frozen at half-mast. "I guess that I'll probably go to an average high school, then an average college, and later get an average office job, in some small company somewhere. I'll probably just end up living my life quietly, all the while with a secret fear of the world's collapse; knowing that the system and the heroes are fundamentally flawed."

Sensei raised an eyebrow. "That sounds rather painful, suffering in silence for the rest of your life, are you sure that that's what you want?" He asked almost coyly.

"Want?" She asked without looking at him, a sad smile playing across her lips. "No, but it's probably what I'll get. I'm quirkless, so what else can I do with myself?"  
She swirled the contents of her mug and watched the milk float through the steamy, pungent, tea. She stopped for a moment and cocked her head.

"What I _want_ is to change things. I… I want to be someone, not just Chisaki Midoriya the quirkless fool." She gave a deep sigh. "I used to think that this person that I wanted to become was a hero, someone like All Might. But I don't think that I want to anymore. Heroism, the fighting for people, has always been appealing, but I'm no hero… I don't think that I can be."

"So why not become your own kind of 'hero'?" Sensei posed.

Chisaki's looked up slowly, dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you could join me." He said, his eyes doing the watching without eyes thing; Chisaki thought that it should have been unnerving. "More specifically, join my league and work with us to 'change things', as you put it. This world is broken and twisted, the Hero system is flawed and falling apart, and I think that both you and I know that sitting on our asses and enduring isn't going to solve the problem."  
Chisaki bit her lip, her mind in turmoil over this proposal.

 _That's a big offer. Its life changing, it would mean joining a group of villains after all._

 _But, join Sensei?_

 _That doesn't sound too bad. Actually, that sounds great._

 _Sensei acknowledges me as more than just a crippled, quirkless, little girl. Besides I feel perfectly at home here and everyone here seems much more welcoming than anyone in the 'normal' world._

 _Except for maybe Shigaraki, but I think that we just got off on the wrong foot._

 _Kurogiri, on the other hand, is kind and polite, and Giran doesn't seem too bad._

 _All of these people are certainly leagues better than someone like Kachaan. They may be 'villains' but they are better people than the person most praised to become a 'hero of our generation'. That's about as ironic as irony can get._

 _Besides, I agree with sensei here, we need to change things. So that people like Kachaan don't get praised as heroes while people like me get stepped on._

 _So that security isn't an illusion from a bunch of media centric, glorified, celebrities._

 _This society_ _ **is**_ _wrong, and Sensei and his friends might be the way to change it._

 _So, this raises the question. Just what would joining Sensei's group entail?_

 _First of all, would joining mean becoming a Villain?_

 _Would I have to hurt people?_

 _Well, you can't expect to change the world without getting your hands dirty._

 _But what about murder? Would I have to become a murderer?_

Chisaki pursed her lips and voiced her thoughts slowly.

"As much as I like the idea of changing things, I don't…" She gave a sigh, unsure of how to articulate these thoughts. "I agree that the world shouldn't be allowed to stay this way. It is definitely twisted and wrong…But, joining you would mean becoming a villain wouldn't it? I'm not sure what that would mean for me. Becoming a criminal at 14, that just sounds a little crazy to me…Mostly, I was just wondering what I would be doing if I were to join you. Would I have too…kill people?"

Sensei let out a low chuckle. "Well, you wouldn't have to kill anyone, at least not for a very long time. After all, not all villains are murderers." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "As far as your activities would go, you would have a choice in what you tag along for. And you wouldn't get involved in anything too dangerous for a while, after all, we would need to train you before then."

Chisaki smiled sheepishly, but continued with more questions. "What about my day to day life? Would I be able to keep my civilian life as it is? If I agree to this, I'm going to need to keep this a secret from my mother. She would probably have a heart attack if she knew that I was even _talking_ to a villain." She said with a small laugh.

"Naturally, we would hide your identity." Sensei said with a nod before sipping at his mug of tea. "A normal life is something that should be greatly treasured. After all, as soon as someone is recognized as a villain, their life become very _limited_." Sensei said sadly, before looking up and raising his lips into a smile. "We can discuss these things at great length at a later date, if you would like that." He suggested.

"Yes, I _would_ like that." She said with a smile, having reached a conclusion.

 _No matter what the future holds, it will be movement in some direction. Whether its progress or not is secondary, anything is better than the life I have now._

"Then its decided." Sensei said with a wide smile as he held his hand out, offering a hand shake to seal the deal.

Chisaki's heart fluttered nervously as she reached out to grip his hand.

He shook her hand with surprising strength for a man who had spent the last few years living with the aid cables and machinery.

Sensei gave her a last big smile, and it send a shiver of excitement down her spine.

"Chisaki Midoriya, welcome to the League of Villains."

This world was going to change and she, Chisaki Midoriya, was about to take her first major step towards creating that change.

* * *

Author's Message Time!

*yay*

(yeah, that was absolutely sarcastic)

Hello everyone, happy Friday.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I personally think that this one turned out pretty well, it took a lot of rewriting but its not too terrible. Speaking of terrible, I have some announcements. First, I did indeed change the summary for this story, in case any of you noticed the change and were confused. This new summary is just more concise and all encompassing, so I think that it just works better. Second, I am looking for a beta reader, so if anyone is interested in proof reading my future chapters, PM me or leave a comment. Lastly, this one is also a favor from you readers, I have been thinking of condensing and polishing the first few chapters, if anyone has any comments or advice pertaining to this idea, again, please PM me or comment.

Well, thank you for your time and I hope that you have a good two weeks, I will see you again soon.

OptionA


	8. After-Effects

Three days later, it still felt unreal. Some part of Chisaki's mind wanted to believe that everything that had happened had simply been a dream, or maybe a nightmare. Within two days she had had her image of villains and heroes completely overturned, found out her idol was really not who he pretended to be, and accepted an offer to join a group of really nice, cool, human beings who only kinda sorta happened to be villains.

Yeah, it was all just a little bit too crazy to be real(and that's not even mentioning that she almost died), and yet it _was_ real.

The idea of joining a league of villains should have been terrifying or at least off-putting, and yet Chisaki found that it held a sense of adventure and excitement. It was a little rebellion, a secret that someone like Kachaan could never take away from her. It was her little safe space. She hoped that maybe this was proof that she was no longer simply a cowardly, quirkless, middle school girl.

These were the sorts of thoughts that brought an eager smile to her lips as Chisaki sat in her classroom. It was the last period of the day and the teacher had long since ceased his attempts to hold the students' attention, and the students, likewise, had long since forgotten to pretend to be interested.

Bakugo and his friends had started some betting game in the corner of the classroom. Some girls had formed a small huddle by the windows and had begun to whisper amongst themselves. The rest of the students sat interspersed across the classroom, on their phones or napping with their heads on the desks.

By all accounts the whole scene was a blatant violation of the rules and on any other day probably would have meant at least a dozen detention slips, but the teacher was too tired to go through the trouble and the students were all more than content to spend their last period goofing off.

Meanwhile the clock ticked the seconds by, eternity by eternity.

Chisaki watched the timepiece on the wall with her eager green eyes, glancing furtively between its face and that of the teacher at the front of the classroom: she had been attempting to keep up with the notes from his ever-dreary lecture but couldn't help feeling the excitement of release from the stifling classroom. Suddenly something hit her lightly on the back of her head.

She flinched and turned around hesitantly, finding herself face to face with her 'good friend' Bakugo Katsuki, his hand still raised from the throw.

"Oh I'm sorry, Deku," He said with a sneer and a dismissive wave of his hand. "I was hoping to hit the trash can, but I guess that I must have made a mistake. You two look so similar after all." He leaned back, his arms splayed out, palms up. His shoulders twitched in a shrug and he gave her a condescending little smirk, as looked down his nose at her. "Especially since all _you_ ever do is stink up the place and make things hard for other people." His friends snickered around him like sniveling rats and Chisaki felt herself sink into herself, wanting to hide and escape but being completely unable to. "After all, you aren't good for anything except occupying space and wasting oxygen." Katsuki said, his smirk growing with his ego. "Sometimes I pity you. It must feel absolutely horrible to be such a _complete_ _waste_ _of_ _space_."

Chisaki's eyes burned and her stomach seized. She wanted to cry and yell all at once, but knew that she could do neither of those things.

Instead, she clenched her jaw and turned back around, her face a mask of timid unresponsiveness.

 _Yeah, some hero your going to turn out to be, "Kachaan"._

She thought as she glared down at her notes, trying to hold back tears through anger alone.

 _I can't believe that we were ever even 'friends'._

 _Why do I even bother feeling betrayed anymore? After all, it's not like he'll ever see me as anything more than his emotional punching bag._

 _You know what? Katsuki Bakugo, I hope for the sake of the world that you fail to even get into UA._

 _If you ever became a hero, I'm pretty sure the world would end._

She gave a sigh and glanced at the clock.

 _It's just another fifteen minutes. Then you won't have to see him for the rest of the day._

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

 _Just another fifteen excruciating minutes._

 _Let's go back to thinking about Sensei and the League._

 _Yeah, the League._

 _Maybe they will help me change things so that people like Kachaan get punished for what they do._

… _Punished? Like how? With violence and pain? Death?_

She shook her head, banishing the thought.

 _No! Nope, we are not going there, too dark. Lets change the topic. Yeah…Um, I wonder how Giran's doing?_

 _I mean I didn't get to talk to him that much, but he seemed like a pretty okay guy. He even said that I wasn't creepy when I started ranting on accident. People have been telling me that I look demented for years, now it's so surprising to just see someone who doesn't mind when I rant. Isn't it weird how someone so accepting can be a villain?_

 _Aren't villains supposed to be cruel, vicious, psychopaths?_

The ringing of the school bell startled Chisaki out of her thoughts.

She hurried to get ready to leave and shoved her books in her backpack, all the while tracking Kachaan in the corner of her eye. He was still talking with his friends, but she wanted to be out of there before his attention shifted to her.

Today Kachaan seemed to be in the mood for some 'emotional release', and if he got the chance, she would become the vessel for that 'release'.

 _Yeah, no thanks._ She thought at that notion. _I'm getting out of here._

She was done packing up so she yanked her bag off of her desk and threw it over her shoulder as she walked towards the door.

She was almost there when Kachaan called her name.

"Hey _Deku_ , where do you think you're going so soon? I thought that we could have a quick little _talk_."

Chisaki paused for a moment, her first instinct was to freeze and comply, to avoid any conflict. But then she thought about it, she didn't want to just stand there and let her 'old friend' harass her. So, she took a deep breath, set her shoulders, and kept walking.

"Deku?" Kachaan's voice came from behind her in uncharacteristic surprise, before it rang out in rage. "Deku! What the _Fuck_ are you doing?"

She started running.

It occurred to her that, by tomorrow, he might want revenge for her little rebellion, but she dismissed the thought.

 _So, what, if he blows up at me later!_ She thought in agitation.

 _I just want to get out of here and meet up with Kurogiri. This prick can go fuck himself._

"Deku! Where do you think you're going?" He demanded as he charged after her. He was ready to yell a stream of expletives at the girl, but when he got through the door, the hall was empty and Chisaki was nowhere to be seen. "You're really going to regret that you _quirkless_ little SHIT! How dare you walk away from me!" He roared, setting off a string of explosions in the palms of his hands.

Chisaki gave a sigh of dread as she barreled down the stairs, she had just barely managed to duck behind a corner and into the staircase when she had heard him shout; yeah, tomorrow was going to be bad.

She was at the park now sitting on the same bench that she had cried on just a few days before; but instead she was smiling now, not crying.

 _Today's going to get better._ She assured herself.

 _My mom's at the hospital until tomorrow morning, and I get to hang out with Sensei and his group until nine._

 _I just can't wait to see them all again!_

She was practically dancing in anticipation as she kicked her feet and swaying back and forth on the bench.

Ten minutes later Kurogiri opened his portal behind the shed.

This time Chisaki was ready and she passed through without any difficulties.

"Hello everyone!" She said with a bright smile as she landed in the bar.

Giran and Shigaraki were sitting at the bar, their backs to her at first, and Kurogiri stood behind them, cleaning glasses. Giran turned around immediately, he had a pleasant little smile on his lips and a cigarette in hand. "Hey there Kiddo. How you doin'?"

"I'm doing great." She responded with a wide smile, as she strolled up to the bar.

"I heard that you officially joined." Giran commented as Chisaki took a seat. "Congrats on that one… Sensei insists that you will be a big help." He said with a nod and a sideways grin as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"That sounds like a lot of pressure." Chisaki said with a bubbly laugh. "I'm just excited to be here."

"I'm glad to hear that." Kurogiri said with his smiling eyes. "Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked kindly.

"Can you do iced coffee?"

"Of course." He said with a nod as he began to fuss around the backside of the counter.

Chisaki looked around, momentarily confused. "Are we waiting for anything?"

"Not really." Giran said lethargically, letting out a lungful of smoke, his elbows were propped on the counter around a glass of gin. "Just waiting for Sensei to contact us."

"Contact us?" She asked. "How?"

"Through that TV there." He said, nodding to a TV monitor hanging in a corner, just above where Shigaraki was sitting.

Kurogiri passed Chisaki her iced coffee, and she took it, barely able to acknowledge it over her surprise.

"You mean that we won't be meeting with him in person?" She asked.

"Well of course not." Giran said with a shake of his head. "His health is much too weak to have so many visitors so often."

"But I met with him before…" Chisaki said in disappointment, "Is it not possible to meet him again today?"

Shigaraki gave a snort. "This brat," He murmured from his stool, he was hunched over the bar and glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. "Doesn't even know how lucky she was to see Sensei even _once_." He said spitefully.

"Shigaraki." Kurogiri hissed in warning. "You are being very rude."

"Rude or not, it's true!" He said with a shrug, his eyes still trained on Chisaki. " _You_ took your time with Sensei for granted. Do you know how long it's been since _I've_ seen Sensei-"

"Shigaraki!" Kurogiri chided more forcefully. "That's enough. Stop venting at Chisaki."

Shigaraki turned his glare to the bartender and opened his mouth to unleash his anger on the man, when the phone rang. Everyone froze.

Kurogiri turned to pick up the phone, shot a scalding look at Shigaraki from over his shoulder.

"Yes Sensei?" He said into the receiver as he turned his back to the bar. His expression changed after a moment of listening, and he nodded his head slowly. "Yes, Sir, I will relay the message to them." Another nod. "Thank you, Sensei." A pause. "Of course… Naturally."

There was a longer pause and Kurogiri slowly put the receiver on its hook. For a second, he cleared his throat nervously, and then turned to face the three keen faces that watched him. They had all been holding their breath.

"So…?" Giran asked slowly. "What did the boss say?"

Kurogiri sighed. "There has been a…change of plans." His eyes flickered towards Chisaki for a moment. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to give you the tour today. Some of our assets have been… 'breached', and the league has been rendered into a state of emergency."

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. "What is it?" He asked gravely. "What did they hit?"

"I don't think that they necessarily meant to hit anything of ours," Kurogiri said with a frown. "it seems that a group of vagrants have barricaded themselves inside one of our warehouses and are attempting to claim the cargo inside. Unfortunately that warehouse contains a shipment of equipment for the NOMU project and-"

Shigaraki's eyes widened and then narrowed. "That's enough, Kurogiri," He interjected, shooting a glare at Chisaki. "don't say anything more!"

Chisaki looked around in confusion, she had never heard of this 'nomu project' thing, and couldn't make heads or tails of it, but Shigaraki seemed to think that she had some kind of use for this information.

Kurogiri shook his head. "It's okay Shigaraki, she's become part of the League, so it's perfectly fine that she hears about the project."

Shigaraki turned to the bartender in disbelief. "Did Sensei say that?"

Kurogiri nodded his head. "Yes."

Shigaraki turned beat red. "Why? Why would Sensei give this brat such special treatment?"

"I don't think that he is giving her any special treatment at all." The bartender said with a frown, noticing Shigaraki's discomfort. "Regardless of what you think, Sensei has placed you in charge if this little 'rescue operation'. Giran has been charged with the weapons and the gruntwork. I will handle the transportation of the goods, and whatever else you may need me for. Also, since she has no training, Chisaki is to accompany me."

Shigaraki stood abruptly and Chisaki's eyes went wide in astonishment.

"She's coming along?" He exclaimed in outrage.

"I'm coming along?" She said at the same time.

The two froze and locked eyes for a moment, shock passing between them, before Shigaraki scowled and hurriedly sat back down.

"Well, I'm not taking responsibility for her." He grumbled as he turned away.

"That's fine." Kurogiri said with a humorful little smile.

"Psh!" Giran exclaimed, a laugh bursting from his lips. "You two! Oh God! I'm gunna die!"

Chisaki felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and tried to change the subject. "W-won't I be a burden, since I can't do anything?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, kiddo." Giran said, as he wiped a tear from his eye, still smiling. "I'm sure that Kurogiri will take good care of you."

"Right." The bartender said reassuringly. "You and I shouldn't be in any danger."

Giran stood from his bar stool, taking a final drag from his cigarette and crushing the butt into an ashtray. "Well, I guess that I should go get the details about this little mission. I'll take the liberty of prepping a few firearms too." He had turned around and was just beginning to walk away when he stopped and abruptly, an idea had occurred to him. "Chisaki do you need anything? A costume or any weapons?"

Chisaki was, once again, surprised. "N-no? I-I don't know." She looked at Kurogiri hurriedly. "Do I need anything?"

He cocked his head thoughtfully. "Well, a disguise couldn't hurt. We probably don't have many options though."

"Alright." Giran said with a grin. "I'll see what I can track down then."

"Let's reconvene in twenty." Shigaraki said begrudgingly. "I'm going to go breathe some air not _contaminated_ by naivete and childish overdependence." He shot Chisaki a parting glare of disapproval before disappearing through a doorway, and slamming the door behind him.

With that, both Shigaraki and Giran were gone.

"Does he really hate me that much?" Chisaki said quietly. "I mean, I know that I haven't done anything to prove myself yet, but does he have to be so harsh? Am I really that useless?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Kurogiri said reassuringly as he leaned against the far counter. "Shigaraki doesn't trust people easily, but once he gets used to you he isn't so bad."

Chisaki gave a little humorless laugh. "I don't think that he'll ever get used to me." She paused to take a sip of her coffee, a new thought occurring to her. "W-why do you think he saved me from that sludge villain? I mean, it's not like he had any _real_ reason to save a stranger, right?"

Kurogiri shrugged. "I'm afraid that I don't know the answer. It would be best to ask him yourself, if you ever get the chance."

She gave a sigh of defeat. "Keyword being 'if'."

She finished her drink in silence and watched Kurogiri wash and put away glasses. He didn't look like he was in any hurry, nor as if he were about to go out, fight some dangerous criminals, and reclaim a warehouse.

"I thought that Sensei said that the league was in a state of emergency." Chisaki asked him after a minute. "Isn't everyone acting rather calm?"

Kurogiri gave a chuckle. "This isn't the kind of emergency where there is a need for immediate action, so it seems that we have opted to move with care."

"B-but you aren't moving at all." Chisaki said, biting her lip nervously. "No one is doing anything."

"Don't you go worrying about our pace, Kiddo." Giran said with a smile, as he appeared behind her. He was carrying a cardboard box and when he approached, he set it onto the bar top.

"I brought out all of our spare clothes, most of its old bartender uniforms. I think that this set should fit you." He said as he pulled out a vest top and a red tie. "We could give you this blouse, but all of our pants are too long. I assume that you'll be okay with just wearing your skirt for today." He glanced at Chisaki to assess her response. She nodded emphatically.

She had always dreamt of having a costume and, even if this was a villain costume and not a hero one, the idea of having her very own disguise was still thrilling.

"Good," Giran said, leaning back into the box and pulling something out. "I also found a gas mask. It might work to cover your face until we find a better option." He said as he laid it on the counter.

Chisaki picked up the article and held it with care. Its black plastic looked old and worn on the edges, but the glass lenses were still intact and they were slightly tinted; Chisaki assumed that it would make it harder to recognize her face through them.

"Oh yes, that one." Kurogiri said as he gazed over the bar top and into Chisaki's hands, "That relic may look battered, but it should still work."

Giran gave a snort. "We wouldn't have kept it otherwise."

Chisaki found herself smiling down at the old thing.

"What are you three doing in here?" Shigaraki said coldly from behind them. "This isn't the time to be playing dress up!"

Chisaki went rigid in surprise.

"We were just getting Chisaki something to wear." Kurogiri said calmly.

"Well, you're wasting your time." Shigaraki grumbled in annoyance. "We need to get ready to head out. I've composed a plan of action. Kurogiri, you're going to take us to the observation room on the second floor of the warehouse, that will give us a decent vantage point and access to the security cameras. Giran, I'm assuming that you have your weapons." Giran gave a nod. "Good. You're going to go first and neutralize any threats that may be present. Come back through and notify us when you're done. Then the rest of us will pass through and from there we will reassess the situation and decide what to do next." He said, passing a glance around the group. "Are we all clear?"

Chisaki clutched her mask and bit her lip. "W-what do you want me to do?" She said nervously.

" _You_ will do your best to stay out of the way." He hissed, his eyes narrowed in revulsion. "Know that you are only coming along because Sensei ordered it. If you get weak kneed or break down at the sight of blood, I'm leaving you behind. Now, go change your clothes or whatever it is you need to do. We're leaving in five."

Kurogiri shot Shigaraki a look of disapproval, before turning to Chisaki, "I will show you to a place where you can change." He said kindly.

"Th-thank you." She said, avoiding eye contact, as she picked up the clothes on the counter.

Kurogiri led her to a bathroom in the back of the bar, and waited outside for her to change.

Chisaki dressed hurriedly and got a brief look at herself in the mirror, just as she secured the gas mask over her face. There stood a girl, but you wouldn't know if she was a girl if not for the skirt, who looked shaky, nervous and out of place.

The long sleeves of the blouse had been unreasonably long, so she rolled them up to her biceps, this left a contradictory look to the neat vest and suit idea; especially when paired with her mess of a tie. The only two things that seemed to fit her well were the vest and the mask. Everything else hung limply off her frame, hiding whatever few feminine features she had.

 _You still look like a wimp._ She thought sourly. _Well at least you don't look like Chisaki Midoriya. That's a plus…_

 _Well, actually, you only look different-ish…_

 _If someone who really knew you saw that green hair, they would probably be able to recognize you immediately._

 _Maybe if I carry myself differently, I won't be as easy to recognize…?_

Chisaki took a deep breath and set her shoulders. The figure in the mirror unfurled a bit from its stoop, but it was undeniably still Chisaki Midoriya.

 _That's not that much better. I still look like a shaky disaster…_

She thought with a sigh of defeat. Suddenly she felt a rush of groundless courage and shook her head resolutely.

 _No, you know what? You're going to do this._

 _Show Shigaraki up and prove him wrong. You're not a useless wimp!_

A knock came from the door and Chisaki froze.

"Chisaki are you alright in there?" It was Kurogiri, "You've been in there a while and Shigaraki is starting to get impatient."

"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise, "I-I'm coming." She was almost startled to find that her voice was slightly muffled and distorted behind the mask. "I was just having s-some trouble with the tie." She lied before thrusting open the door and stepping out into the hall.

"How do I look?" She asked, grinning nervously behind her mask.

Kurogiri admired her costume for a second. "That doesn't look too bad." He said with a nod of approval. "If you don't mind, may I fix that…tie?"

Chisaki smiled awkwardly and stood still as he redid her mess of a knot.

"There," He said standing back. "That looks much better. Let's get back to the bar then." He announced and he began to lead her back the way they had come.

They entered the bar to find Giran leaning against the counter and Shigaraki hunched over on one of the stools; the latter was covered in the dismembered hands that Chisaki vaguely remembered from the first day she had met him.

"What took you two so long?" He snapped as he turned to them.

"I-I'm sorry, I took a long time changing." Chisaki said nervously.

"Whatever," He growled, standing up. "we've already wasted enough time. Kurogiri open your warp gate."

"Yes sir." Kurogiri said, summoning up the black portal.

"Giran." Shigaraki said over his shoulder.

Giran gave a nod, drew his gun, and passed through.

Kurogiri went to stand next to Shigaraki, bending down to whisper something in his ear. Shigaraki in turn made a face of shock, and then shifted to discomfort as Kurogiri spoke.

Chisaki couldn't help but feel awkward as she stood there in the middle of the bar; she always seemed to end up standing uncomfortably in the middle of the bar.

 _I wonder what he's saying to him. I-is it about me? Should I be worrying about what to do next?_

 _This just started so suddenly. I didn't expect that we would go straight into the battle._

 _I hope that Giran's doing okay._

Just then, Giran popped back into the bar, emerging from the portal looking no worse for wear.

"All clear." He reported.

"Good." Shigaraki said, standing and walking towards the portal. Just as he was about to step through he paused and turned to Chisaki, not quite meeting her eyes. "Make sure to wait for a minute before you walk through."

"O-ok." She said, stunned as she watched him disappear. "What did he mean by that?" She asked, looking at Kurogiri.

"I am not sure." He said elusively.

 _What could that mean? Does it have anything to do with what they talked about?_

After a moment and the bartender stepped forward. "We should go through."

"O-oh okay." Chisaki said, flustered, dragging her eyes to the wall of shifting black smoke.

 _What's going to be on the other side? Are there going to be corpses? Giran did take a gun…would we have heard a gunshot if he had used it? No, probably not, I don't think that sound carries through these portals. So, does that mean that Giran could have just killed someone?_

 _If I go through there am I going to see dead bodies? Is there going to be a lot of blood?_

 _NO! Stop psyching yourself out! You're going have to go through there whether you like it or not. It won't be any different than the hero fights. You've seen plenty of gore at those, now you're just going to be a little bit closer to it, that's all it is._

"Chisaki?" Kurogiri asked expectantly from behind her. "You need to walk through." He said gently.

"R-right." She said, taking a deep breath.

She forced one foot in front of the other, bracing herself for the gore.

She shut her eyes tight as she passed through the gate, opening them hesitantly when she felt herself reach the other side.

She shouldn't have been so scared, there was no gore awaiting her; in fact, the room was impeccably tidy, save for some suspicious piles of ash and a fallen chair.

Instead of a mass of blood and corpses, Chisaki was facing a wall of TV monitors, each screen showing footage of what she assumed to be the warehouse. It was the kind of room that security guards used in movies, which Chisaki found almost comically mundane.

Shigaraki and Giran were standing by a door and speaking in hushed tones, no doubt planning their next course of action.

Kurogiri appeared behind her suddenly and quickly closed the portal.

He glanced around, his gaze lingering on the piles of ash longer than Chisaki thought it should have; but he didn't comment on them so she decided not to voice any questions about the oddities.

Shigaraki looked up, gracing their arrival with an impassive glance. "I can see that you two made it just fine. I've been wanting to get to work" He said, a spark lighting in his eyes and a bloodcurdling grin twisting across his lips, "Lets make this entertaining."


	9. Chapter 9

Real quick: a **Gore** **Warning**. This mentions some pretty brutal stuff and lots of cussing. So you have been warned...also expect some character shifts. We finally start some development, its been so long!

* * *

"Sneaking around and hunting them down one by one would be too easy, too boring. I want to crush them so completely, that they'll never be able to stand again. Literally…" Shigaraki said, fixing Kurogiri with his crazed eyes and leaning against the doorframe. "We're going to use your quirk to drop them from as high up as possible. From what I remember, the ceiling of this warehouse is rather tall, so even if the fall doesn't kill them, it'll at least cripple them."

Chisaki flinched as Shigaraki continued on.

How could he casually mention brutally crippling, possibly mortally wounding, people? This was a merciless act of violence and he was excited about it.

She glanced at Kurogiri, looking for any acknowledgement of this fear, but he was watching Shigaraki ramble on and his expression hadn't changed. A knot tightened in her stomach. Her eyes flew to Giran, who noticed her and gave her a little reassuring grin but showed no sign of sharing in her distress. They were villains. How else had she expected them to react to this?

Chisaki swallowed over the lump in her throat and forced herself to toon back into what Shigaraki was saying; she at least wanted to know what was going to happen.

"Giran and I will be on the ground, taking care of anyone you aren't able to, but we're still going to need you to be our eyes. Use the cameras to watch for anyone we miss and inform us." He said, still speaking to Kurogiri with a wolfish grin. He turned to Giran. "You made sure to grab the comns units right?" Giran gave a nod. "Make sure everyone gets one." Shigaraki said, his gaze rolling over the other three members, quickly settling on Chisaki. His red eyes narrowed and any glee that had been there fell away. "Honestly, I don't know why you're even here, but Sensei's told me that you're supposed to be observant or something. So just stay with Kurogiri and try to make yourself useful." He said icily, before turning his back to her and walking away. He slouched over the table and began to study the feed on the screens, oblivious to Chisaki's blank eyed stare boring into his back.

She just couldn't understand what he wanted from her. One minute he was telling her that she was useless and naive and the next that she should try to help. Maybe it was his horrible personality that made her so confused.

He was cold, cruel, and almost psychopathic in his disregard for others. Yet he had been managing this impromptu team with ease despite his unsociable disposition, and he had even managed to say something to her that wasn't quite an insult.

Was this possibly an opportunity?

Yeah, Chisaki decided, this was, and she was going to prove to him that she wasn't as useless as he thought she was. That she could be of use to someone. That she wasn't the burden people like Kachaan insisted that she was.

"You all good?" A raspy voice asked from right beside her, shaking Chisaki out of her reverie.

She looked over and found Giran staring at her, a cigarette held between his fingers.

"I-" The smoke suddenly caught in her throat and she gave a cough. "I'm fine."

He watched her for a second while he took a drag from his cigarette, frowning. "If it's about Shigaraki, we told you already, ignore him and don't take it personally. He's always grumpy."

"Y-yeah. I know." She said sheepishly, looking back at the same villain. She couldn't help it, he obviously wanted nothing to do with her and yet there was something intriguing about him. Was intriguing the right word?

"Giran!" Kurogiri exclaimed, Chisaki turned around just in time to see him wretch the cigarette out of his hand. Kurogiri crushed it in his hand indignantly. "What if you had set off the fire alarms?"

"Sorry. Sorry." Giran said, waving his hand dismissively. "I needed a little pick-me-up."

"Well be more careful." Kurogiri said, massaging his forehead with a sigh, before suddenly looking up again. "By the way, what happened with the comms units?"

"Oh, right, that." Giran said, fishing in his pocket. "Here." He said, passing an earpiece to Kurogiri. "One for you." He turned to Chisaki and handed her another. "One for you, one for me, and one for the grumpy man." He said as he popped one into his own ear and held the last in his hand.

"Oh let me turn that on for you." Giran said, taking Chisaki's earpiece and pushing a button on it. Just as he was handing it back to her, and Chisaki was about to thank him, a perpetually angry voice came from behind her.

"Who are you calling grumpy?" Shigaraki said with a glare at Giran.

"No one." Giran said with a weak attempt at a smile. "Your earpiece?" He said in offering, his hand outstretched.

Shigaraki's narrowed eyes told Chisaki that he knew exactly who Giran had been talking about, but instead of commenting on it, he took the comms unit and jammed it into his ear. "Whatever." He said dismissively, his scowl deepening only further. "Let's get going. The idiots downstairs have started to look through the goods. We can't afford to sit up here any longer." He turned from Giran to Kurogiri. "Open us a portal to the far left corner of the warehouse, we'll start the ground assault from there. As soon as we're through, start dropping those fuckers from the sky."

"I understand." Kurogiri said with a nod, opening a large portal just behind them.

Giran and Shigaraki turned around and, just as he was about to pass through, the latter shot Chisaki a glare. "Make sure to stay out of the way." He said before following Giran into the wall of black mist.

When they had disappeared, Shigaraki's voice came through the comms unit in Chisaki's ear. "Kurogiri we're through. Get started."

"Yes sir." He responded and turned his attention to the screens, scanning their faces calmly.

Chisaki didn't know what to do with herself, so she just stood behind Kurogiri and watched over his shoulder.

After a moment of roaming, Kurogiri's eyes settled on one of the panels. Three men were grouped together in the middle of an isle, crouched over a crate, one of them had a crowbar and was working to lift the lid off the base. Chisaki watched as a black portal appeared under their feet, swallowing two of them. The third man's face was contorted in surprise and fear at the sudden disappearance of his compatriots. He stumbled back and dropped the crowbar from his hands.

Something caught Chisaki's eye in one of the other panels, it was a view from a camera pointed to show the catwalks near the ceiling. A pair of black portals appeared in the air, releasing the two figures, who tumbled through the air in a brutal freefall to their deaths. The men were gathering momentum as they fell, falling faster and faster, until they were nothing more than flailing blurs and they dropped out of frame within seconds. Back in the first panel, the man's head jerked up violently and the fear in his expression turned to visceral terror. -At first it was a bit of blur at the top of the image. Then it was a whole lower body. Then the entire two bodies were in frame, and the man on the ground was right below them. They barreled down and all the man did was stare up, paralyzed by fear. Chisaki wanted to urge him to run, to get out of the way, but she was no better, with her feet glued to the ground and breath hitched in her throat. Just seconds before the bodies hit the ground, she was struck by barely enough sense to close her eyes and turn away.

Even if with her eyes squeezed shut, she still saw them clearly; a gruesome mass of blood, bone, and tissue splattered across the isle. Her stomach seized and her mouth tasted sour as something burned her throat. She refused to turn around and see them dead and crushed by gravity, but her mind was filling in the image on its own, and that was almost worse.

It had been too sudden, too quick. That was a life, no two lives, that had just been ended. A deafening bang sounded to her right, she spun around. Nothing was there.

"Giran, a little warning next time!" Shigaraki's voice was in her ear. "That hurt like hell. I'd be surprised if that didn't cause some permanent damage to my ears."  
"Sorry." Giran's voice said back. "I didn't have time to put on a silencer."

She could picture Shigaraki's expression of loathing. "Just tell me you'll put one on." He snarled back.

"Will do." Giran responded.

That sound had been a gunshot. Chisaki realized with horror.

Suddenly she turned back to the screen, it was almost involuntary, but she had to know where that shot had landed.

It was the man from before, the one who had watched the other two fall to their death.

He was collapsed on the floor, with a pool of blood spreading around him, his eyes unfocused and cloudy; unseeing, unliving, all too dead. She felt her stomach seize again, next to him were two crushed things made of blood, torn flesh, jagged bone, and bits of cloth. They looked only vaguely human; recognizable only by an odd limb or two that had been spared by the impact.

This was brutal, cruel, inhumane.

A voice in her head was screaming to make them stop.

This was wrong, it went beyond murder.

There had to have been a way to stop them without killing them.

Why did they have to die? They surely weren't saints but that didn't merit murder!

She thought back to what Shigaraki had said during his plan, she hadn't taken him seriously enough, she hadn't known how horrible this would be.

Kurogiri was looking at her, but he didn't say anything and he turned back around to face the screens.

He was going to create more portals, he was going to kill more people in the same way. She had to tell him to stop.

Didn't he see how wrong this was?

She opened her mouth to voice her opposition, but nothing came out. A squeaky little, choked, sound was all she could muster.

Kurogiri glanced at her again, impartial and callous.

"If you need to throw up, that far corner looks like a good place." He said, still facing the other way. He was no doubt trying to be sympathetic but Chisaki found that it just sounded condescending and shallow.

How could he say that to her? He was killing people, yet he was more concerned with making sure that she threw up in a proper spot.  
Yet again she felt her stomach seize, and this time something was clawing its way up her throat. She rushed quickly to the corner of the room, and barely had a second to tear off her mask before a wave of acid and chunky bits spilled out through her mouth. It hit the floor with a wet splattering noise. She retched once more time, then a third and fourth.

An eternity later, when her stomach was done emptying itself, she leaned her head against the wall. Her head felt light and hollow and her troso felt like a lump of lead, like a balloon held to the earth by an unrelenting weight. Her body felt alien and wrong, but she reminded herself that this was nothing when compared to what those people would have felt just a moment before impact. One second standing on solid ground and the next suddenly falling endlessly, knowing that the only thing awaiting you is a hard slam and death. Her stomach seized again, but it had nothing to give. She was breathing hard now. She had to calm down, steady her breathing. If she hyperventilated too much, she would just throw up again.

"You doing okay there Kiddo?" It was Giran in the comms. How much of that had he heard?

"That was disgusting. You should have at least spared us the ear-wretching specatcle and taken off you'r fucking earpiece." Shiagaraki said. "Can't even handle a little blood." He muttered. "Honestly you really are a disgrace-"

Chisaki wretched the speaker out of her ear and threw it on the floor. She didn't want to have to deal with his bullshit!

What did he mean a disgrace? He'd just killed-

She looked up at the screens, scanning, counting the corpses.

-He'd just killed at least twelve people!

She was the disgrace? He had just brutally murdered over a dozen people for absolutely no reason! Unnecessary death made him a pig, not mature!

A little voice in her head told her that she had no experience, and that she didn't have any grounds to base this off of. She didn't care. It was wrong!

She found Shigaraki on the screen, standing between two rows of shelves. He had his hand on a man's throat, barely raising him off the ground. Muscles had begun to show and decay under Shigaraki's touch, the skin flaking off in bits of dust. That must have been some side effect of his quirk.

She didn't have time to care, the little shit was about to add to the body count.

There was a flicker of movement behind him, an eye blinking, a face peeking around the corner at the end of the row. Someone was there. He could easily sneak up on Shigaraki and kill him before Kurogiri even noticed that he existed. Shigaraki could die.

She wasn't about to get her earpiece back to warn him. No. If she was going to say anything to that psychopathic brat, it would be to his face!

A little piece of black metal shone in the corner of the panel, just a few feet away from Shigaraki. Chisaki assumed that the man Shigaraki was currently torturing must have dropped it. Perfect, that would make for a decent weapon.

"Kurogiri." She said forcefully, pointing to the panel. "Take me there."  
He turned around to face her, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Please!" She said insistently.

He blinked twice and quickly summoned the portal.

"What are you planning to do?" He asked, his eyes watching her in concern.

She met his eyes but didn't respond, instead she fastened her mask around her face and stepped through the portal.

Once through, she was facing Shigaraki and stood only an arms length away from him, the dying man dangling lifelessly in his hand. Shigaraki's eyes immediately went wide in surprise.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He exclaimed, glaring at Chisaki indignantly; but Chisaki didn't react, her attention had shifted elsewhere.

Yes, just at her feet was what she had glimpsed on the screen, a small handgun. She picked it up, flashing her eyes in Shigaraki's direction. Just behind him now, less than six feet away from her, was the man she had seen crouching behind the row. He was standing, his arm half raised, a gun in hand. She didn't give him a chance to react, she aimed, braced, and fired.

He buckled quickly as the bullet buried into his left leg. He was on the ground, immediately hollering in pain, his gun falling beyond his reach.

"Fuck! You fucking bitch!"

"Oh shut up." She said coldly. "Stay quiet and you'll live."

Shigaraki's head spun to look over his shoulder at the man, shocked. His eyes darted to Chisaki, then back to the man, and between them a few more times, almost as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.

Chisaki's ears rang and her shoulder throbbed, but she couldn't focus on that, there was still a man dying in Shigaraki's hands.

"Shigaraki, drop him." She said, shifting the barrel to face him instead.

Shigaraki's eyebrows raised in startled amusement and a small smile stretched across his lips.

"Are you going to shoot me?"

She stared at him and, for just a moment, it occurred to her to do just that, but…

"No." She said, lowering the gun. "Just let the poor man go. He's passed out from the pain, he's not going to hurt you. You don't need to kill him."

"Maybe I want to kill him." Shigaraki said, his grin growing. "Has that occurred to you, that I might enjoy this?"

She stared at him, a new wave of fiery rage rushing through her veins.

"Then, maybe I can still shoot you. I'll just shoot your arms until you're forced to let go."

"Fine. Fine." He said, his red eyes trained on her as he released his grip on the man. He crashed to the floor in a stiff pile.

Now that he was on the ground, Chisaki could see the damage Shigaraki had caused. He'd left a gruesome wound all along the man's nape and collar, she could see the muscle and blood glistening on his neck from where the skin had been turned to ash. The skin that hadn't fallen off had cracked and left bloody fissured snaking all along the man's visible skin.

"You know, I didn't think that you could get angry." Shigaraki said, smiling widely, drawing her attention back to him. It was a wolfish almost repulsive thing, a grin that displayed his yellowed teeth and stretched his pale, chapped, lips farther than she would have thought possible.

She glared at him. "You ended more than twelve lives today." Her tone sharpened quickly growing low and accusatory. "You and your stupid plan brutually murdered more than a dozen people, and it wasn't even necessary! You were never in any immediate danger! There was never a reason to kill them. You could have just as easily had Kurogiri send them somewhere else, somewhere far away from here—"

"Hey! I'm going to bleed out down here." The man on the floor interrupted. "Girlie, you don't want me to die, now do you?" He was watching her with indignant, beady, little eyes.

Chisaki glared at him and was about to respond, when Shigaraki beat her to it. "Shut it you old croak, or you'll lose another leg." He snarled with a tilt of his head, his eyes still fixed on Chisaki. "Maybe... Just maybe, I didn't want to risk them coming back."

Her eyes shot back to the pale man before her, her blood boiling. "Then invest in better security. People don't have to die for them to leave you alone."

He raised his eyebrows again and then narrowed his eyes. "You like your heroism and your justice right?" His eyes were boring into her, probing for a reaction. "So tell me, what if people like these leave us alone but not the next person they come across. What if they decide to attack an old woman or a defenseless child next? What would you do then?"  
Chisaki glared back stubbornly. He had a point, when put into that perspective his actions almost made sense, but this whole idea was a very slippery slope. "I-I don't know…" She shook her head resolutely, furrowing her brow. "But we can't just go around killing every person to ever inconvenience us. If everyone did, that society would still be in the feudal ages."

He watched her for a second, red eyes narrowed and analyzing. Chisaki stared back defiantly, studying him in return.

He had a cold intelligence in his eyes, maybe that's what had intrigued her. He had always been so bored and aloof that she had assumed that he didn't care about others, that he didn't look twice at a person. Maybe she had been wrong.

"What that FUCK are you two panzies doing? I'm bleeding ou-"

They both turned to the man on the floor with fire in their eyes. "We told you to shut up!" They roared at once.

Their eyes shot back up to meet each other. Shigaraki grinned. Chisaki glared and looked away.

"If you're planning to do anything with this prick, you should do it now." He said, raising a pale eyebrow. "Giran should be just about done finishing off whoever's left."

A cold feeling settled in Chisaki's gut. Right, more people had died while she had been here debating.

"Can Kurogiri drop these two off at a hospital?" She asked, her eyes softening as they landed on the unconscious man with the neck wound.

Shigaraki's grin dropped an inch. "That sounds like a really shitty idea... but yeah it should be doable." He paused for a second and cocked his head, listening to something Chisaki couldn't hear. "Giran's done." He informed. "Kurogiri'll take us home-"

Just then a black portal appeared next to them.

As they were about to step through-

"Wait! What about me?" Exclaimed the man on the floor.

Chisaki spun around.

This prick!

"You heard my friend before! We'll get you to a fucking hospital." Shigaraki said with a glare over his shoulder, before grabbing Chisaki's arm, careful to only use four fingers. "Lets go." He said as he pulled her through with him.

* * *

Yay! Its finally written. That one was hard to finish. Well, I hope you enjoyed our bit of development here. Things will be moving a bit faster after this, I'm so excited! We can finally get into the main plot!


	10. I've gotten too lazy to name these

Chisaki and Shigaraki emerged from the portal and found themselves returned to the camera room. Kurogiri and Giran stood opposite them, the former stood waiting attentively while the latter leaned against the table with his arms crossed over his chest.

Giran straightened upon seeing them arrive and Kurogiri .

"Hey, you're alive!" He said with a toothy grin. "Good to see that neither of you got too roughed up."

Shigaraki rolled his eyes and didn't answer. Instead, he detached himself from Chisaki's side and strolled up to Kurogiri. "Lets get home," He began, his lips set in a vaguely pensive smile. "I need to talk to Sensei." He said with a glance over his shoulder at Chisaki.

"Shigaraki." She said, frowning. "Don't forget about the-"

"Right the hospital." He interrupted, amusement flickering in his eyes behind his hand-mask. "She insists that we take the two men downstairs to a hospital instead of killing them."

Kurogiri furrowed his nonexistent brow, his eyes shifting between Shigaraki and Chisaki. "If you authorize it, I will. Just keep in mind the possible repercussions."

"Yeah," Shigaraki said with a grin and a wave of a had. "It'll be fine. We'll have to transfer everything to another warehouse anyways."

"Understood." Kurogiri responded with a bow of his head. "Will the local hospital two towns over due?"

Shigaraki shrugged and Chisaki gave a nod. One of the monitors showed the two men being swallowed by one of Kurogiri's portals.

She let loose a sigh of relief, finally they were on their way to somewhere safe.

Shigaraki raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you looking so content for?"  
She stared at him for a moment and cocked her head. "What do you mean? Why shouldn't I be happy?"  
An eerie grin spread across his lips. "Kurogiri could have easily sent them somewhere other than a hospital, somewhere dangerous. But here you are, so certain that you've won." His grin only grew when he saw her surprise. "Do you really trust us that much?"

That thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Y-yeah. I guess I do." She said with wide eyes.

"Well stop it." He said with a snort. "That kind of unfounded trust will get you killed."

He turned around to say something to Kurogiri.

Chisaki found herself staring at him again in bewilderment.

When had she started to trust them?

Shouldn't she be repulsed? Hadn't they just killed a dozen people?

Why wasn't she more angry?

"Kiddo?" Giran asked, touching her shoulder.

She looked up suddenly. "Y-yeah?"

"You okay?" He asked. "I heard from Kurogiri that you went storming out of here earlier, right after throwing up, and then we couldn't contact you."  
She gave a shallow smile. "I'm fine." Her eyes darted guiltily to the corpses displayed on the monitors. "I don't feel like I should be, but I'm fine now."

"Ah." Giran responded, giving a knowing nod upon following her gaze. "Yeah, that takes a while to get used to."

She frowned. "I just… I don't plan to get used to it."

He sighed and gave her a small smile. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder why such a kind girl like you ended up with us-"

"Giran, Chisaki, let's go." Kurogiri interjected from a few feet away. A warp gate hovered beside him.

"Where's Shigaraki?" Chisaki asked, not seeing the third villain.

"He's already back home. He wanted to talk to Sensei for a moment." Kurogiri supplied.

"Oh. Ok." Chisaki said as she approached the portal, surprised that she hadn't noticed the development.

A minute later and the three of them were standing back in the bar.

Kurogiri sighed, closed his warp gate, and circled the bar; ready to resume his glass polishing duties.

Giran and Chisaki took seats at the bar.

They sat for a minute in silence.

"Hey Kurogiri." Giran said after a second. "Do you think that you could ask your boss to raise my salary?"  
"Not really." He responded flatly. "Why?"

"Well you guys have me running around and doing all of these high risk missions without notice and I'm still getting paid the exact same amount as before."

"Oh? You're getting paid?" Chisaki asked, surprised.

"Of course. I mean, man has to live off of something. Right?"

"Does that mean that you also get paid Kurogiri?" Chisaki asked, turning to the bartender curiously.  
"No." He said cooly. "Since I live and 'work' here, I just share funds with the league and don't actually get 'paid'."

"I see." She said, smiling. "So Shigarakis the same way?"

"Kind of." He began, grinning slightly, as if he found the idea amusing. "But it's more like a parent-child relationship. Since Shigaraki is the boss' successor, it's only natural that they provide for him-" He furrowed his brow in concern, Chisaki had gone stiff at his words. "Chisaki? Are you okay?"

She just stared at him in disbelief. "Sh-Shigaraki is Sensei's protege?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yeah." Giran said with a raised eyebrow, barely suppressing a laugh. "You didn't know?"

She stared dumbly at the countertop. "N-no. Of course not. How was I supposed to know that?" A realization hit her, the blood drained from her freckled cheeks, and she looked up to her companions in panic. "Kurogiri, I-I almost shot the next leader of the league! What do I do? Sensei's going to hate me! I'm going to die! What am I going to do-"

The bartender watched her overreaction humorously. How nice it must have been to be that young and have that much energy; especially after such an eventful day.

A voice suddenly came from the TV above them, startling Chisaki out her panicked ramblings.

"Kurogiri. I need to speak with Chisaki, could you please send her to me. We have something very important to discuss."

That voice was unmistakably Sensei, and Chisaki was certain that he sounded royally pissed off; but it was the kind of "royally pissed off" that was preceded by a large, secretly threatening, smile.

Kurogiri set down the glass he had been cleaning and, ignoring Chisaki's incessant cries to the contrary, he opened the portal to Sensei's 'office'.

"In you go, Chisaki."  
"No! Kurogiri how could you do this to me!" She exclaimed. She quickly turned to Giran in her last ditch attempt to 'save' herself. "Giran. Please you must know some trick, how can I get out of here?"  
He tilted his head mournfully, "Sorry Kiddo. I'm afraid this is inevitable." He said, playing along, but almost breaking character as tears burst into Chisaki's green eyes.

Kurogiri rolled his eyes. "Oh calm down, it's not that big of a deal. Just get in the portal."

"N-no!" She exclaimed, leaning away.

"Fine." Kurogiri said, much to Chisaki's surprise.

Her relief was immediately rescinded, however, when she noticed that she was sinking. She looked down to find that a warp gate had been placed directly below her chair and was swallowing both her and her stool.

"Kurogiri!" She exclaimed in outrage, "You traitor!"

Kurogiri just shrugged.

"Don't worry, Kiddo," Giran said, grinning down at her as she sank in up to her ankles. "You'll be fine."

"Fine? What do you mean, fine?" She hollered before she was completely swallowed by the black portal.

She popped out the other end and for a second she thought that she was falling, before her stool connect with the ground. It teetered for a moment and Chisaki let out a startled yelp, her arms flailing around her in order to regain balance.

Someone cleared their throat and she looked up.

Kurogiri had landed her directly in front of Sensei and his big throne of machinery. He smiled down at her in something between amusement and astonishment, at the sudden appearance of a girl on a stool.

"S-Sensei. Hi." She began while giving him a nervous smile.

"Hello Chisaki. How kind of you to bring your own chair." He said, smiling the smile of 'secret death'. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the warehouse."

"R-right. S-so... Shigaraki must have told you about it." She said, looking away nervously.

"Why do you sound so hesitant. Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yes I'm fine!" She exclaimed.

"Okay…" He said dubiously, leaning his head on his hand. "How about you tell me about your sudden decision to jump through a warp gate and engage yourself in an active combat zone."

"W-well s-sir-"

"Sir?"

"Sensei! I mean Sensei- I was…" Her lips stretched into a thin lipped frown as she recalled the moment. "I was terrified, Sensei. At first, I thought that maybe I could handle the combat, that I was ready to witness the death. After all, it's not like I personally knew any of these criminals, but… Just standing by and watching people die, it goes against every fiber in my being. I couldn't just stand there, I got angry. So, when I saw an opportunity to save a life, I took it."

"Even though it impeded the execution of the mission?" He said, raising what would have been an eyebrow.

"I didn't really think about the mission," She said, her face turning red. "just what was happening in front of me. I was focused on the human life being extinguished without just cause."

"That sounds a lot like something a Hero would say. Don't you think?"

"R-really? That hadn't occurred to me." She said sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed by the comparison.

A moment passed in which Sensei seemed to be studying her face thoughtfully, and she studied his in trying to understand what he was thinking or how he was going to react next.

"You know, Chisaki, its occured to me before that maybe you might want to be a vigilante hero. It would come more naturally to someone with such a kind heart as yours."

"N-No!" She blurted out, before suddenly remembering herself and speaking more quietly. "Even if I were strong enough to work as a vigilante, I wouldn't want to leave… As much as I might disagree with Shigaraki's brutal methods, I really can't help thinking that this world needs changing. Heroes are figureheads who pander to hollow ideals. It doesn't matter how good their intentions may be, the hero society ultimately corrupts and treads thoughtlessly on those they don't have a use for. It crowns violent fanatics with explosive quirks as prodigies and leaders. While people with no control of their circumstances, are marginalized. People who have to hide their pain behind smiles and -Oh, I'm projecting aren't I. Sorry. Sorry." She exclaimed, her face suddenly flashing red in embarrassment. "What I meant to say was this." She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Sensei, if you're still willing to have me in the league, I would like to stay and earn a place here."

A small laugh escaped his lips. "Oh Chisaki. I don't know whether to reward or admonish you." Sensei said as he steepled his fingers in contemplation. "On one hand, it's refreshing to see you remain true to your ideals and sense of justice, which is something that cannot be said for most people in this industry. On the other hand, you have not only put yourself in danger but also risked Shigaraki's own wellbeing… Hmmm, what a conundrum." He tilted his head to the side and spoke partially over his shoulder. "What do you want to do Shigaraki?"

Shigaraki? He was here?  
The young man stepped out from behind the throne, still decorated in his dismembered hands and his calculating red eyes watching Chisaki in scrutiny.

Her face flushed red again. Had he been listening the whole time? She was pretty sure that she's called his methods brutal.

If he heard, he didn't comment. After a moment he said, "I think that she should play a game as punishment. Something to test her resolve." A grin stretched across his lips. "Recently there's been a certain gang that's been getting full of themselves and acting out of line. In two months, you and I will both lead opposing sides of a pincer attack on their base. If you succeed in reaching the base and meeting up with me and my team without killing a single person, you can keep operating as you please, but if you fail and your team kills someone then you'll have to work by my rules." He said, cocking his head and grinning wider.

She didn't even blink. "I'll do it." She said immediately. She hadn't even given herself time to think it over, but if it meant that she could redeem herself and prove to him that murder was not the only way of solving problems, then it was worth it.

"Shigaraki," Sensei began. "I'm fine with you two competeing, but won't Chisaki be at a huge disadvantage: she has no quirk, has no combat experience, is not trained, and has never managed a group of villains before. Normally I wouldn't mind the difference in experience or power, but this operation that you want to wager on is dangerous. If Chisaki were to fail in even completing the basic objectives and subdue the gang, then your side would have a much bigger issue on its hands, Shigaraki."

Shigaraki grinned. "Well, we can easily resolve two of those issues within two months. Giran and Kurogiri can train her, but for the other one…" A conspiratorial look flashed in his eyes. "Sensei, would you be willing to give Chisaki a quirk?"

The older villain raised an eyebrow and turned to face the bewildered girl on the stool, studying her anew.

She must have misheard them. Right? There was no way that they could have been talking about an actual quirk. There was no way to collect and give quirks. Unless… unless that was an actual quirk.

"Yes." Sensei said after a moment. "But I'll need some time to properly prepare one, and she'll need at least two weeks in order to adjust to it."

"This quirk thing," Chisaki began in excitement. "Is it part of a quirk? Is that what your quirk is Sensei?"

Shigaraki let out a husky wheeze, Chisaki thought that it might be what passed as a laugh from him; at least it looked to be from the way he was holding his sides. "You didn't know about about Sensei's quirk?"  
"Apparently I don't know anything." She said, frowning.

Shigaraki let out another stream of wheezes. "Oh god, you joined without knowing anything? You must really be a naive idiot."  
"I'm not an idiot!" She exclaimed defensively. "I may be a little…. Well maybe really naive, but I'm not-"  
"Its okay Chisaki." Sensei said, sighing. She thought for a moment that he might be rolling his eyes at his childish successor. "My quirk is called All For One. It allows me to strip away people's quirks, use them, and give them to other people. I don't blame you for not knowing. You and I never got around to talking about my quirk, and with everything that's been happening to you, I'm not surprised that we never discussed all the secrets of the league."  
"Well is there anything else that I should know?" She asked, biting her lip. Something clawed its way from the back of her mind. "I think some project got mentioned earlier, just before we left. The NOMU project? Does that sound right?"  
Sensei raised an eyebrow and Shigaraki stopped laughing.

"How do you remember that but not know about All For One?" Shigaraki asked, eyes narrowed.

"I don't know, maybe because no one ever told me about Sensei's quirk?" She murmured. Sensei chuckled. "Well I'm certainly impressed. That project is absolutely critical for our future plans. Using All For One, we'r creating beings capable of holding multiple quirks." He said evenly. The screens behind Chisaki flashed to show the lab she had previously caught glimpses of on the screens.

She turned around to find that at least two dozen rows of six tanks each stretched across the screens. Frankenstein-esch muscular, black, bird like things with exposed brains were suspended inside of each tank. Though their eyes were closed and they appeared to be asleep, Chisaki couldn't help but find the thought of them moving at least a little terrifying.

"What are they." She asked breathlessly.

"The Nomu." Sensei said evenly. She could feel his 'eyes' boring into the back of her head. He was looking for some kind of a reaction. While the creatures were entirely unnerving and disgusting, she didn't want Sensei thinking that she couldn't even handle the sight of his monsters. His disappointment would have been too crushing.

"How are you going to use them?" She asked as she turned around, curiosity in her eyes.

"Well we're going to start by using them to kill All Might." Shigaraki said, his lips twisted into a smile, excited at the prospect. Chisaki couldn't help but wonder if he held his own grudge against the number one hero.

"Ultimately, the hope is to use them to overturn the hero society and their order. But yes, we are going to start with All Might." Sensei said. "It'll show the world just how shallow and useless the heroes ultimately are."

Chisaki didn't know how to respond for a second. This plan sounded violent, but world change wouldn't come from kind words and platitudes. She would just have to harden her heart and get used to such concepts and the methods used to employ them.

"Right." She said with a nod, refusing to betray that the idea had bothered her.

Sensei watched her for a moment, as if he had expected a reaction from her.

She smiled inwardly, she was getting used to this.

"Do you have any more questions?" Sensei asked, eyes watching her intently.

"No." She said, tilting her head to the side and trying to think. "Though I'm sure that think of some later."

"Thats fine. Don't hesitate to ask Kurogiri or Shigaraki if anything else occurs to you."

Chisaki gave a nod. She would be sure to hound them with every question that occurred to her.

"Well if that's it," Shigaraki said, pulling the hand off his face. "I have a guild match to get to." He said as he walked away. He held up the decapitated hand over his shoulder and gave a brief wave, as he disappeared through a door.

"I'm sure that you're exhausted Chisaki." Sensei began, slipping into a warm smile as he turned back to her. "I'll call Kurogiri and he can take you home."

"Okay." She relaxed and smiled even wider. "Thank you for the talk today. I was actually really worried about what you might say regarding what happened at the warehouse." She admitted, tilting her head and giving a nervous laugh.

"You didn't need to be." Sensei said, humorously. "I found it entertaining to hear that someone actually stood up to my protege. Most people, would have been too intimidated by his 'personality' to speak their mind."

She found herself stifling a laugh at the little dig at the once intimidating villain.

"I like the gas mask by the way. It's a nice, slightly sinister, touch to the bartender outfit."

"Thank you Sensei." Chisaki responded.

Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much.

"Sir?" Kurogiri said, suddenly appearing next to a vortex.

"Kurogiri." He said, "Can you please get Chisaki home? She deserves to rest after the day shes had."

"Yes sir." Kurogiri replied, inclining his head. "Is it alright if I take her to the bar first? I'm sure that she'll want to change her clothes and collect her belongings."

"Of course." He said. "I'll see you again soon, Chisaki." He said as she stood to leave. "We still have to get you that quirk after all."

"Right. Thank you Sensei."

After that, things blurred. Kurogiri returned her to the bar, where Chisaki changed out of her costume, picked up her things and was ferried back to her neighborhood park.

When she finally stumbled her way into her still empty apartment, her phone read 11:00 PM and the adrenaline and shock from the night's events had begun to fade. Exhaustion caught up to her and she collapsed into her bed, where she passed out, still fully dressed.

* * *

A Note From The Author: So last chapter Chisaki was the angry badass, and this chapter she's the embarrassed fool. Seem like emotional whiplash yet? Sorry about that. These characters are complicated and I can't let them stay one dimensional and angry for too long; it hurts my soul.

On a more personal note, I got quite burnt out while writing this most recent chapter. So I won't be working on this story for a few weeks.

I'm not abandoning this story though! The ball has only just gotten rolling after all.

So, if any of you have anything that you would like me to correct, or rewrite for what's here, just let me know and I'll get on it. A

lso, if any of you have any ideas for this story, do comment on it. This plot I've got planned out has a lot of holes to fill so if anyone has ideas, I'm all ears.

Thank you for reading.

See you soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Morning sunlight streamed in from between the curtains, lighting up the bedroom and drawing Chisaki out of her pleasant slumber. She groaned and curled up tighter on the bed where she lay. A hand shot out to scramble for an edge of blanket and heaved it over her head. It was only a moment later, however, that she turned over and pulled the blanket away with a frustrated huff.

She couldn't fall back asleep. But she didn't want to move, so she just lay there looking up at the ceiling and letting her eyes trace lazy patterns in the cracked plaster.

It wasn't long until she became aware of the clink of pans and plates coming from the kitchen.

Her mom must have been home.

She should probably get up…

Slowly, very slowly, she rolled out of bed.

Chisaki planted her feet on the floor and stumbled groggily out into the living room. After a moment she plopped herself down at the breakfast table and stifled a yawn.

"Good morning honey." Inko said as she slid a plate onto the table in front of her. It was piled high with scrambled eggs and toast.

"M-morning." She managed out before another yawn interrupted her.

"Late night?" Her mother asked as she took a seat opposite her daughter. Chisaki saw that she was smiling as she slid into view.

"Hmmm… must have been." Chisaki said, cocking her head. "I'm just so…" She stifled another yawn, "so tired." She said as she slumped over the table and reached for a fork.

Those eggs were looking soooo good. She shovelled a mouthful of delicious carbs into her mouth. It was a pure fluffy, savory, heaven.

"Well it must have been quite the night. You didn't even bother to change out of your school clothes." Inko said with a light laugh as she leaned towards her daughter, with one arm across the table and the other propped up on an elbow as she nibbled on some toast.

Chisaki took another bite of eggs and looked down to find that she _was_ still dressed in her rumpled school uniform. Weird.

She shrugged it off and kept eating.

What _had_ she done last night? Why hadn't she changed into her PJs?

Her mind was just so fuzzy.

 _Was I doing something with the league?_ She thought curiously as she leaned over the table and kept shoveling more food into her mouth. Her face screwed up in concentration, as her mind tried to force its way past the haze.

She had gone to the bar and met up with the league… then… then-

Her eyes flew wide open in realization and her stomach flipped in a wave of revulsion.

Her stomach lurched and something launched itself up her throat. She slammed her fork down onto the table, barreled out of her chair, and ran into the bathroom.

Not a second later, she was throwing up into the white porcelain toilet bowl.

After a few minutes of heaving, her stomach had finished emptying its contents. Her head was beginning to spin and she slumped onto the cold tile floor.

Exactly what had she done yesterday? What had she witnessed?

The league… Kurogiri, Giran, Shigaraki… they'd killed those people.

She stared at the blue tile of the bathroom floor, her eyes wide and frenzied.

Her mind replayed the way those villains had splattered onto the floor of the warehouse. The sheer terror on their faces just before they hit the ground… it was seared into her mind.

Her stomach flipped again and she lurched back to the toilet, just to dry heave into the nasty mess that was already there. Then the smell hit her and her stomach repeated its torment.

She flinched when a hand began rubbing circles on her back.

She looked over her shoulder to see her mother leaning down next to her, her face taught in worry.

"How are you doing honey?" Her voice was laced with such genuine concern that Chisaki's breath hitched in her throat. "Are you okay?"

"I…" She stared into her mother's big green eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I…" She couldn't tell her.

"I…" She had to come up with an excuse.

"I... -I think that I'm having my period!" She blurted out in desperation.

For a second Inko just looked at her and blinked, stunned. Then her face relaxed into a smile of relief.

"Right… well we can deal with that, can't we? You know where the pads are, right?" She said as she rocked back on her heels and got up. "I'll leave you to get settled. I'm going to go get you some pain medicine before the cramps start."

"Th- thanks mom." Chisaki said, as she rubbed her arm self-consciously.

"No problem." Inko said with a sympathetic smile, before shutting the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Chisaki felt herself relax.

Her lungs let out a sigh and she leaned her head against the wall behind her. Her eyes fell unfocused on the cupboard opposite her and she stared off into space. Chisaki sat in this daze for a few minutes before a thought roused her from her stupor.

She couldn't sit like this all morning. Her mom was going to get suspicious if she took too long. Chisaki took a deep breath and slowly hefted herself up onto her feet.

She leaned onto the sink for support and looked up. Her hollow eyes bore back at her in the mirror. There were huge circles under her once bright eyes and her skin looked blotchy and red, not to mention that her lips were cracked and bleeding and her hair was stuck to her face with vomit and sweat.

She groaned and covered her face with her hands.

 _Get! Yourself! Together!_ She demanded.

 _Yes that was fucking_ ** _horrible_** _and… you can't take back what you've said and done… but life is going to move on. You can't wallow and sit here forever… Mom will worry and you'll just dig yourself a hole that you can't climb out of._

She took a deep breath and straightened in determination. For a moment, she just looked at her reflection. The girl there was small and looked to be severely ill, but she wasn't scared. She _refused_ to be scared.

 _Everything is going to turn out okay!_ She reassured herself, breaking into a reassuring smile.

 _It has too…_

A minute later she wandered out of the bathroom. Her mother immediately urged her to take the pain medicine, and she did, if anything to keep up appearances. Afterwards she hurried into the shower so that she could wash the sick off of her before she had to leave for school.

An hour later, she was walking out the door and waving her mother goodbye in an oddly typical fashion.

As she walked through the streets and retraced her normal route to school, a thought struck her.

With everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours, everything seemed too normal.

Since yesterday, she had been made an accomplice to murder and yet no one was saying a thing.

She was just another face in the crowd. People passed by her with little more than a glance, while she nervously trudged her way by them. She was gripped by relief at the lack of attention but also intense fear and trepidation. She couldn't help but picture that any second someone would turn around and look at her and _know_.

But no one was giving her weird looks. No one was even really seeing her.

It was unnerving.

She'd let the league murder six people, and done nothing but vomit in a corner… She was just as guilty as them.

There should have been some flag waving above her that marked her as a criminal.

It was this thought that compelled her to search the TV screens as she passed the shops, looking for even a glance at the morning news coverage, hoping and fearing for any reference to their deaths. Nothing.

She scrolled through the news feed on her phone. Still nothing.

It was almost as if their murders had never occured.

She was certain that six dead bodies should have solicited questions, but she could find no visible trace that they had even lived, much less died.

Her mind worked, drawing more questions as she stared blankly at her phone.

If this murder hadn't been made public, then what else hadn't? What if murders like these were commonplace in the criminal underworld? Did they just go unnoticed then? Would the police even find the bodies?

How could the brutal end of a life be so easily overlooked?

It was wrong -so, _so_ wrong.

She felt her stomach churn in disgust, but she couldn't really pursue that thought. The school had just come into view. She needed to pull herself together. The people here would be looking at her much more closely than these strangers on the street.

Chisaki suddenly remembered that she was still holding her phone in her hand, and swung her backpack off her shoulder so that she could bury it in the deepest pocket of her backpack. She didn't want to risk Kachaan seeing it.

Last time he'd thrashed the previous one so bad that her mom had had to buy her a new one. Chisaki had lied at the time, saying that it had fallen into the road when a car was passing. Her mom had looked so sad and so worried, but she'd replaced the phone. As more and more things ended up broken or irreparably burnt and torn, Chisaki had returned to her mom with more lies. As this continued her mother's smiles became more and more strained.

At first Chisaki had thought that her mother was catching onto the lies, that she might have realized that something was wrong.

But then she'd stumbled upon her mother pouring over her bank statements late at night, when she thought that Chisaki was asleep. It was the money.

Kachaan's bullshit was taking its toll financially.

For everything Kachaan broke, burnt, or drilled a hole into, there was an extra expense that her mother couldn't afford. So, Chisaki had thought that if she could minimize the damage by keeping the important things out of his reach, then her mother wouldn't have to worry as much.

Chisaki plopped into her desk, as she thought this, already exhausted by her mess of a morning.

Immediately a familiar voice grated out from behind her.

"Deku! What the fuck do you think that you're doing here?"

She twisted around in her chair to see Bakugo marching up behind her.

"K-kachaan?"

"Shut it you piece of shit! Who gave you the right to ignore me? Huh?"

He towered over her, seething and setting off explosions in his palms.

She flinched away. "U-um. I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't know? _-Don't_ _Know_!" He seethed. "You really are a useless piece of shit, Deku!" He slammed his hand on her desk, making her jump. " _You_ walked away from _me_! What the fuck do you not know?"

The memory hit her. She'd been so concerned with going to see the league that she'd completely brushed him off. Back then this had been an issue for tomorrow, but now… Fuck. He was pissed off and she had no way to escape.

"Yeah you little shit, you did. Now you're going to learn what happens when you ignore me."

"B-Bakugo, the teacher's coming." One of his lackies called over from the doorway.

Katsuki tongue clicked in annoyance, eyes darting back to Chisaki and glaring as if it were her fault that the teacher had arrived to spoil his vengeance.

"Fine!" Bakugo spat out, lips drawing into a sneer. "We'll finish this after school - and, don't run away this time, Deku… or it'll be worse tomorrow."

He then turned on his heel and walked to his seat at the back of the room.

Even though he had put a physical distance between them, Chisaki could still feel his glare burning into her back and goosebumps rising on her skin.

A weight settled in her stomach as the teacher walked in to start class.

She only had a few hours left to live. Come the end of the school day, Bakugou would undoubtedly release on her the worst beating of her life. She swallowed over the growing lump in her throat as she stiffly pulled out a notebook and pencil. This was not how she had seen her day turning out when she'd woken up this morning.

The day passed at such an excruciatingly fast speed, that Chisaki felt like she had been given mental whiplash. Classes had been a terrifying blurr of sounds and incoherent words on pages. Then the final bell rang.

Everyone got up to leave and, though she hadn't even thought to escape them, Chisaki felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. She looked up to find one of Bakugo's lackeys leering down at her. The other one stood by the door, grinning at her, reassuring her that there was no escape.

Both of them walked her out to the side of the building.

Bakugo was leaning against the wall when they got there, his arms crossed in front of him. As soon as he saw her turn the corner, he grinned.

It was absolutely terrifying.

"Hey there _Deku_." He said as he pushed off of the wall and slowly sauntered over to her. Chisaki was acutely aware of the rage simmering in his eyes as he approached. "I have somewhere to be, so I'll make this quick."

In a blur of motion he landed a quick punch to her gut. Her breath hitched in her throat and she doubled over in pain, tears filling her eyes.

"Does that hurt?" He sneered. "Yeah, well it should. You're nothing, Deku." He landed a kick to her leg and it almost buckled under the force. "Powerless!" Now it was a shove to the floor. "Weak!" He kicked her in the side, and she curled up around the spot, gasping in pain. "You will do as I say Deku. I'm stronger. Better! -You? You're NOTHING!" He hissed. "Understood?"

She gave a weak nod, eyes squeezed shut and leaking tears.

"Good." He said.

He sounded satisfied enough, but Chisaki knew that this wasn't over.

Two new pairs of feet began to kick at her viciously, as if she were an oversized soccer ball.

She clenched her jaw to keep herself from screaming out in pain, and tightened her coil of lymbs to shield her head.

This wasn't Bakugo anymore. He was done.

He'd said his piece and now his lackeys were simply driving it home.  
It was repulsive, cowardly. But that was just how things were between them. She'd always been the punching bag, the doormat, and now she'd stepped out of line.

Everything about this situation was wrong, but Chisaki couldn't fight back, couldn't say a word.

If she could spare any other person this pain then she would.

Her mind flashed to the events of the night before. Those men dying in terror.

Their pain had been worse than this. So she had to hold on so that she could stop them next time. She'd save them. She had to.

A few more minutes continued in striking pain, before Bakugo seemed to think that his point had been made well enough and he called off his lackeys.

"Thats enough you two."

The blows paused. Chisaki twitched, easing her eyes open to see Katsuki glaring down at her.

"Just remember which of us is going to be a hero, Deku!" He snarled.

Chisaki just bit her lip and curled back into her ball.

"Lets go you two." She heard Katsuki say.

"We're just going to leave her here?" One of the lackeys said.

"Yes!"

"Fine." The same one said with a huff.

"Piece of shit." The other said smugly, landing another kick to her back.

"What the hell did I just tell you, you idiot?" Katsuki roared. "I said that we're done!"  
"S-sorry Bakugo!" He stammered in a panic.

"Get over here, you little shit!"

"Y-yes!"

There was a crunch of grass and gravel as the footsteps receded.

Even after she was sure that they were gone, Chisaki just lay there on the floor, eyes closed. Her whole body ached and she just wanted to lay there and cry, but she knew that she couldn't. She had to get home before the bruises started to show or people would start to ask questions.

With a groan she leaned against the wall and pulled herself to her feet. When she straightened, she hissed in pain. Her whole torso felt like it was on fire and that distant ache became a fierce burn. Those were definitely going to be some nasty bruises in the morning.

She rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath. She just needed to get home and then, once she was safely tucked out of sight, she could properly assess the damages.

For once she was grateful that her mom wasn't around today. It had been years since she'd gotten hurt this bad and she didn't want her mom to see her like this. Before she'd been able to excuse it as kids just fooling around, but now they were supposed to have outgrown that.

Chisaki began to look around for her bag. At some point they must have taken it from her because she found it on the floor a few feet away. Thankfully they seemed to have left it alone and everything inside was virtually untouched.

She hauled it onto her back with a groan and began to treck her way home.

By the time Chisaki had made it into her apartment, she was so exhausted that she was tempted to just collapse onto the couch and not move again; but first she had to drag herself to the bathroom to get the first aid kit.

She flicked on the TV and set it onto the news channel as she plopped down onto the cushions.

She liked it as background noise. It was a nice distraction from her pain. It reminded her that she wasn't the only one hurting, that there were people out there that still needed help.

She dragged her shirt off over her head as a newscaster's unnervingly chipper voice trilled at her. Her fingers tested the skin along her ribs gingerly, her whole body tensing when she hit a particularly excruciating spot. She really hoped that nothing was broken. She wasn't sure how she'd explain something like that.

On the TV the announcer was rambling about some recent villain activity. As Chisaki watched the news and continued to assess her condition, her mind was left to drift. Eventually it settled on her hazy memories of last night. After that gut wrenching massacre, she'd gone back to the bar and had some discussion with Sensei and Shigaraki. They'd mentioned some monsters Sensei was making. —Weird, but okay.

Then Shigaraki had proposed some sort of game, and she'd agreed.

Why had she agreed? She pushed her mind to remember.

He'd called it a test. They were both going to lead a group in some kind of pincer attack during some raid… she'd never done anything like that before. Hell, she'd never been in a propper fight before. She didn't even have a way to protect herself; she wasn't trained and a useless, quirkless, fool who was prone to overanalyzing literally everything. And, god, she only had two months. What the hell was she supposed to do?

She sighed and slumped in on herself, almost as quickly straightening in pain. Her back had screamed with fire.

Well, now she was sure that she was positively fucked! Not only was she useless and quirkless, now she'd gotten herself beat up so badly that she couldn't even sit how she wanted to!

Why had she agreed to this again? She'd wanted to prove herself, right? Yeah, well failing wasn't going to do that for her!

She sighed and began assessing her back.

If she wanted to have even a _hope_ of surviving against Shigaraki, she was going to need to think of a plan and start training as soon as possible. —A hiss of pain rattled from her lips. She'd twisted into a particularly unfortunate position, in an attempt to get a look at her back, and it sent a jolt of pain through her muscles.— Right. She'd start her training as soon as these bruises healed.

They wrapped around her stomach, sides, and back in a mosaic of blue and purple splotches that throbbed incessantly. Chisaki didn't doubt that there'd be green in there by tomorrow morning.

All she could do for now was pat the bruises with disinfectant, particularly where the skin had broken, and dab at them with warm water.

After a while of tending to her wounds in quiet apathy for herself, the voice on the TV caught her attention.

She looked up to see a clip of All Might playing in a loop on screen while a reporter sang his praises. Apparently he'd saved a woman from a fifteen story fall in a crowded mall.

 _How gallant._ She thought sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. _An effort truly worthy of the title of the protector of peace._

It was incidents like these that made the heroes look particularly gaudy and self interested.

After all, if they reacted only for the highly publicized threats, then who were they truly serving but themselves?

Chisaki was sure that that was true, and yet…

She wanted so badly to see All Might as the crippled little man who was clinging desperately to his hero-dom, but she couldn't help but be awestruck at the sight of All Might on screen.

Such a reliable image of power. Those broad shoulders that almost begged you to rely on them. A smile that quelled your worries no matter how much you wanted to feel otherwise.

It made her heart ache, as if that had been dealt a worse blow than Katsuki's lackeys could ever hope to deliver.

She thought that she'd gotten over her love of All Might, and perhaps she had because this wasn't love. It was something else, something closer to admiration, but at once a little darker than that.

She could learn a lot from the number one hero —after all he'd charmed a nation if not the world— but she didn't want to _be_ him. She couldn't stand for something so fake. Definitely not when someone like _Kachaan_ was professed as an ideal hero. Somehow this cruel future hero was far worse than the villains who had treated her with far more humanity. After all, what kind of "guardian of the innocent" went out of their way to beat up and terrorized childhood friends? No she wasn't a hero. Not like that.

If she didn't want to be a hero like All Might, then who did she want to be? A villain like Sensei?

That was definitely closer, but she didn't want to end up a reckless killer like Shigaraki.

While Chisaki could understand why he did what he did, and she might have gone as far as to call it necessary, that just wasn't her. She wasn't a murderer. That just wasn't what she wanted for herself in the end.

She could easily see herself working _alongside_ Shigaraki. Afterall, he did seem to have the makings of a good leader somewhere in him, even if he could be a little narrow minded and immature at times.

She just wanted to hold onto her morals a little more tightly.

Chisaki suddenly became aware of herself and her blank gaze, at the jarring sound of her phone ringing on the couch next to her.

It was "BartenderBoy".

Chisaki immediately slid her thumb across the screen and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Kurogiri. Whats up?"

"Chisaki. Good afternoon. I wanted to inform you that Sensei has found a quirk for you."

A quirk? When had they discussed a-

Last night. They'd only mentioned it briefly, and she'd been more excited by the fact that All for One even existed so the impossible comment hadn't even registered, but she was getting a quirk.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She was getting a _quirk_.

She, Chisaki Midoriya, the quirkless nobody was getting a QUIRK!

"R-right." She stumbled out with a smile, trying to keep her voice even. "What do I need to do?"

"Can you come in today?"

She had been about to respond with a resounding 'Yes!', when her heart sank. She looked down at her bruised body.

She couldn't appear before Sensei, not like this, not today.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't make it this afternoon. Would it be alright if I visited tomorrow?"

There was a pause.

Chisaki's stomach knotted in worry.

Fuck. Had she really just fucked up her only opportunity to have a quirk?

Kurogiri's voice sounded like thunder in her ears.

"Yes. That should be fine." He said evenly. "Tomorrow at four then?"

"Yes, Sir." She said, smiling in relief. "I will be there."

"Then, I will see you then. Have a good night Chisaki."

"Goodnight Kurogiri."

He hung up.

She leaned into the back of the sofa, head lolling back to stare at the ceiling, smiling from ear to ear.

It was going to happen. She was going to have a quirk, one that Sensei had chosen for her no less!

She would have been jumping up and down in joy if the mear motion of sitting up hadn't made her cringe in pain. So Chisaki just sat there and smiled wistfully. It sounded too good to be true, like some dream that she would wake up from any moment.

"Me… a quirk." She let out in wonder, as if testing the impossible words. She laughed at the thought, excitement coursing through her veins and driving her smile so wide that her cheeks hurt. "Tomorrow..."

She'd have a quirk by tomorrow night. She couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have a quirk. Would it feel different? Would it make her stronger? What would she do if she looked different?

Chisaki just squealed and kicked her feet in excitement. She immediately regretted it, doubling over in pain –yet, it seemed duller now, suddenly more bearable. She let out a breathy laugh as she straightened.

"Oof, that was dumb. Definitely not doing that again." She whispered to herself, smiling sheepishly as she rolled to her feet. She pulled her arms above her head in a careful stretch, her eyes on the droning news broadcast with its dumb heroes and even dumber praises.  
Tomorrow would be a new day.

Things would change.


	12. Chapter 12

Chisaki stood before her mirror the next morning, washing her toothpaste down the drain and eyeing her reflection. The horrible collage of blues, greens, and purples stuck out from the edges of her pajama sleeves and shorts, smattering across her thighs and shoulders. Carefully she removed her shirt and inspected her body's healing with a sigh of defeat. Her back and middle were like an impressionist painting that barely left any canvas bare.

She winced as she pulled her school uniform's shirt over her head. Already, she could tell that she'd be sore for at least another few days. But she could deal with the pain. She just hoped that she could properly cover it all.

There was no way that she was showing up in front of Sensei looking like she could barely stand, so she tucked in her shirt and pulled on long socks to cover her legs. Her eyes roamed her reflection now that she'd done a little bit of touching up. She turned her arms and checked her profile. Nothing was too obvious. Good.

She leaned in now and inspected her face. The bags under her eyes stood stark against her freckles. Fuck. She couldn't look like she was going to pass out either. If only she hadn't been so excited last night, she might have actually gotten more than an hour of sleep. Well, hopefully she'd feel a little more awake after some breakfast.

Chisaki promptly shuffled her way to the kitchen and popped some toast into the toaster, making sure to avoid making too much noise. She'd heard her mother roll in in the early morning and she didn't want to risk waking her. Her mother had been working so hard recently, she no doubt needed her rest.

As Chisaki walked to school, toast in hand, she found herself humming with excitement. Despite the insufferable jolts of pain that shot through her with every step, there was an equally bright silver lining to the day. She was going to get a quirk.

Her, a _quirk_!

It sounded impossible and otherworldly, but it was going to happen. Her mind began to buzz with its usual questions and inspections. How would it happen? What did All For One even look like when used? What would it feel like? Would it be painful? What kind of quirk would it be? How would she use it?

She pulled herself from these thoughts as she stepped onto campus and marched her way upstairs. Her nerves hit her with a different worry when she stood before the classroom door. She'd have to see Kachaan again today, wouldn't she? What should she say to him? Should she say anything at all? What if he got mad at her again? How should she act? What should she do?

Out of nowhere a hand clamped down on her shoulder, pressing right onto a bad set of bruises. Chisaki shuddered in pain, pressing her lips into a hard line to keep a cry from escaping from behind them. She looked up with watering eyes to find Kachaan himself grinning down at her.

"Good Morning Deku~" He delivered with a chilling smile, his tone was grating with annoyance.

"G-goodmorning." She choked out in response, avoiding eye contact.

He smiled to himself in satisfaction and shouldered his way past her, opening the door to the classroom. "See you in class." He said. His aggressive aura hung thick in the air even as he turned towards his seat and disappeared from view.

As soon as he was gone, another hand clapped her on the back. What should have been yet another friendly gesture sent a jolt of pain across her back and made her gasp and recoil.

"Oh sorry there _Deku_. You still feeling a bit sore? Huh?" One of Kachaan's lackeys said, appearing at her side. The other one seemed to materialize opposite him, as if summoned by the sheer idiocy that hung around them both like a stench. God she hated them.

"Aww too bad, I was hoping that we could go for another round."  
"Right? What do you say Deku?"

"You up for a lesson one on one?"

Chisaki ignored them icily and dragged herself wordlessly to the doorway, setting course for her seat.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, morron?" A voice growled after her. She didn't need to turn around to know that they were very thoroughly pissed off by her nonreaction to them. The same boy must have moved to follow her because the other one suddenly exclaimed.

"Wait man!" Chisaki watched some heads turn at the sound. The boy, who now stood in the doorway with a hand on his friend's arm, was glancing between Bakugo and his friend. He lowered his voice to a desperate whisper. "If Bakugo sees you beating up his punching bag, he'll be beyond pissed!"

The other hissed back in frustration. "But that useless piece of shit still needs to be taught her place!"

"I know man, just not right now!"

Chisaki took her seat, her thoughts buzzing in response.

So these goons were scared of Kachaan… Well, that wasn't new. After all, wasn't everyone?

An odd thought struck her at that comment. She had a very hard time picturing someone like Sensei or Shigaraki being afraid of her childhood friend. The situation would no doubt be reversed. She struggled to bury a smile between her pressed lips.

Ah, Kachaan would probably piss himself if Sensei showed up at his doorstep.

Of course, if that happened then Kachaan would probably wind up dead. The thought of that left a bad taste in Chisaki's mouth and her smile slipped away.

Yeah. It would probably be wisest if these two sides of her life stayed separated for now.

The first bell rang and Bakugo's lackeys made their way to their seats. Their eyes lingered on Chisaki bitterly as they passed. She kept her eyes trained straight ahead as the teacher strode in.

The school day passed uneventfully, and by the last bell Chisaki was practically shaking with anticipation. As the hours ticked by, so had the countdown to her meeting with Sensei. Just another hour or two and she'd have a quirk. She'd stop being quirkless. Her! She'd no longer be the quirkless, useless, mess that Kachaan despised her for.

Oh, how she'd love to stick it to him! Shoot him a great middle finger and make some legendary, flamboyant display. Say: Look at me! We're finally equal! You're no longer all that great!

But that would never happen, she realized, her heart stilling in her chest. She would never be able to show him her quirk. No, it would be too suspicious if she were to miraculously develop something so impossible. Oh god, how would she explain it to her mother? No! She'd never be able to use it in public. It would exist only for use within the league. —But still it would be a quirk. She'd have a quirk. It would redefine her existence, even if it was only in secret.

Chisaki was so lost in mulling over the implications of her godsend, that she barely noticed when Bakugo left with his goons. He hadn't said more than a word to her since that morning, but his companions were still bristling at the sight of her.

She walked to her usual meetup spot with Kurogiri and patiently waited for his portal. It appeared just on time and Chisaki stepped through.

When she emerged, it was to Sensei's room. The screens were off today and Kurogiri stood beside Sensei and his throne.

"Good afternoon Chisaki."  
"Good afternoon, Sensei." She said with a nervous smile.

"Are you ready to receive a quirk?" He asked, leaning forward. Scarred eye sockets peered at her intently.

She met his eyes and nodded stiffly. Her hands were shaking nervously and she had to grip them together behind her back to keep them occupied. Questions and curiosities hummed in the back of her head in panic, but she couldn't let herself get lost in them right now. This was a turning point in her life. She had to be sure that she was ready.

Chisaki cleared her throat, partially to make sure that her voice still worked, and strangeled out a: "Y-yes."

A smile grew across Sensei's lips. "Come closer then. I'm going to need to place my hand on your head for the quirk to transfer."

She stepped forwards. Her heart was drumming away in her chest, anticipation prickling across her skin, as she lowered herself to the floor. He was extending his hand before her, and she slowly felt its weight settle on her unruly hair. She took another steadying breath and closed her eyes. This was the moment that she'd been waiting for her whole life. This was it.

A strange hum began to fill the air and Chisaki could feel heat radiating from his palm.

Something began to tickle in her chest, like a flicker of flame that was licking at her insides. She reached for it. Was this it? Was this her quirk?

Something clicked. A moment passed. Her heart thudded away in anticipation. She didn't feel any different. In fact, she didn't feel anything at all. The weight of Sensei's hand on her head had vanished, and she could no longer feel the solid ground beneath her feet. Her eyes flew open in apprehension.

What stretched before her was a colorless smattering of the things she knew. Sensei was seated upon his mass of machinery and a grayed out Kurogiri stood at his side. Sensei's hand fell back to his side from where it had been extended just a moment ago, and his mouth was twisting into a grin. But he looked somehow _smaller_ , Chisaki realized. As if she were looking down from a greater height than she was used to.

Had she grown taller? Was that it? Was that her quirk?

Her eyes wandered down to her body to assess if this was indeed the case, only for her heart to stutter in her chest. Shock and panic choked in her throat. There was nothing there.

She did a double take. This couldn't be. It was impossible.

Chisaki Midoriya had evaporated.

* * *

AN: Hello. So I know that I haven't left many notes recently, hell I haven't been posting frequently for more than a month and a half. Sorry about the sudden haitus, but I'm back on track now. I've got quite a few chapters backed up, so you can expect at least a few updates before another break. Speaking of which, this month is a double feature, so I'll have another chapter up within the next 15 days. Anyways, thank you for reading and remember to stay safe. Much love.


	13. Chapter 13

Chisaki's breath caught in her throat at the sight of the empty air below her. Her body had disappeared and she was hovering dizzyingly high in the air.

Panic struck through her in a paralyzing wave and sent her heart thudding away.

Her vision narrowed and the world began to blur. She could feel herself begin to shake.

Her body was gone.

Gone!

Everything was just _gone_!

No. Don't freeze up.

Breathe, she reminded herself.

She took a deep breath, or rather tried. Half way through an inhale it caught in her throat—

If she didn't have a body, she wouldn't have a mouth. She wouldn't have lungs. That's right. No body, no lungs, no _air_.

Oh god, she was going to suffocate!

Desperately, Chisaki began gasping for air, but nothing was going down. Her chest burned, as if someone had lit it on fire, and her throat was closing up in fear.

Help! She tried to scream, but she couldn't make a sound.

She had to let Sensei know that something was wrong. She had to get him to help! But even after all of her efforts, he gave no sign that he'd heard her.

Below her he was simply assessing the situation with a leisurely tilt of his head. His voice flitted around her with a chuckle of surprise.

"Well, I didn't think that she'd activate it _that_ quickly. I was expecting to see at least a few failed attempts."  
"Are you suggesting that she might be naturally gifted?" Kurogiri asked in polite curiosity.

Gifted? For fuck's sake she couldn't breath! She was dying!  
Sensei just had that thoughtful look on his face as he titled his head and tested the words. "Not quite gifted. I'd say more akin to… _predisposed_. Seeing as she's never had a quirk before, it may have been easier for her to recognize the presence of one and activate it… Though she appears to have no control over it now that it is in use."  
She wanted to scream. How could they both be treating this so casually? She needed _help_.

She tried to flail her arms, to reach for them.

Nothing happened and she cried out in anguish. Fuck!

Her head was beginning to spin and she was fighting just to keep her eyes open. Was this how she was going to die?

Ha. Well this was just fucking perfect then. Between this and the sewage villain, she seemed to be destined to suffocate to death.

"No matter the case, she's been up there long enough. Much longer and she'll be out of oxygen." Sensei said with a little chuckle.

Oh. So he knew she was suffocating? He'd been fine with letting her die like this?

Fuck.

She couldn't see straight anymore. The grayed out world was hazy and warping before her eyes. Chisaki vaguely thought that she saw Sensei raise a hand towards her. It was turning an odd shade of black as tendrils snaked across the skin. —She had to be hallucinating, Chisaki decided.. That's what happened when your brain didn't get oxygen, right? You saw things.— His morbid, glowing fingers were somehow growing longer and extending into the air, until they suddenly shot out in a flash; somehow finding her body and burrowing into her chest. They sucked something out, drawing the warmth from her, as if they were some sort of grotesque quirk absorbing straw.

Before Chisaki could question exactly what had happened, she was falling to her knees before Sensei's throne, gasping for air. Suddenly very much corporeal and it hurt. Her chest screamed, her knees and palms stung from their collision with the floor, and her head spun. Her vision swam, her eyes stung, and she felt like she was going to hurl.

 _No. Try your best to swallow it back down_ , she thought between her sharp breaths.

There was no fucking way that she was spewing her lunch across Sensei's feet.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, surprisingly unconcerned with her violent return to the physical world.

Chisaki swallowed down a retort with her next gulp of air. Was that really all he had to say after she'd nearly died?

"I-" Her lungs screamed after just one word and she was forced to pause to breathe. "I feel like shit." She gasped out.

Sensei's lips stretched into a grin. "Right. Well that's to be expected." He leaned forwards intently. "So was it worth it? How was the experience?"

Chisaki closed her eyes in exhaustion and clutched her head. The world had begun to spin and she couldn't pull her mind back into focus; it was still high on adrenaline and her thoughts were jumping around in a dizzying blurr. She sat back up gingerly, words tumbling from her lips weakly.

"It was terrifying, but… I'd like to try again. I'm certain that I just need to figure out how to control it… "

"Oh?" His tone shifted into that amused tilt and she could feel his eyes digging into her. "Aren't you afraid that you might be acting a little rashly?"

 _Was_ she acting rashly? The possibility hadn't even crossed her mind.

Perhaps he was right. Maybe she needed to slow down. It was clear from this disastrous first attempt that she had no control; and even less of the experience necessary to tackle something like this… But she'd just have to suffer through this. Sensei had given this quirk to her for a reason. There was no way she was wasting it!

Chisaki straightened her shoulders and forced her gaze upwards to fix Sensei's empty eye sockets with a determined look. "Perhaps. But I refuse to be scared off after just one failed attempt. I'm confident that I can do this!"

His teeth shone as his grin split wider.

"Beautiful." He sat back and propped his head on his hand, looking particularly satisfied. "You never cease to amaze me, Chisaki. That heart of yours is truly something to be treasured."

Her heart?

"Th-thank you, Sensei." She said with a confused smile of her own.

"Close your eyes. I'll return the quirk to you."

She did so and leaned forwards. His hand settled on her head again, and the familiar buzz filled her ears.

Then the fire was back, filling that empty space in her core.

This time she let it sit, resisting the urge to reach for it again.

Sensei's hand lifted from her head and she raised her gaze to him with a shaky smile. This was taking an awful lot of self control.

"I can imagine that you're intent on using your new quirk. Why don't you go with Kurogiri to the training room?"

Why wasn't she surprised that they had a training room? Actually, a training room implied that someone else had needed training. Who else was that inexperienced?

She watched, still caught between her buzzing thoughts and aching body, as Kurogiri turned away and began opening a portal. It took her a moment to process that this was her cue to follow and rushed to her feet with a start. She turned back to Sensei with a clumsy bow.

"Th-Thank you Sensei. I will not disappoint you!" Chisaki stumbled out.

He simply smiled and nodded, before she turned to chase after Kurogiri and jump through his portal.

She landed on the other side with an expectant look around.

Aggressive fluorescent lighting glared down at them, glinting off of the dark red leather padding that covered the floor and walls. A variety of weapons stood strapped to the long wall opposite her and a strange structure of hanging metal bars occupied the far left end of the room.

Kurogiri cleared his throat, pulling her attention back to him, and she snapped to follow him to the center of the room.

"Clearly you know how to activate your quirk, but you lack control. So, let's start with practicing a localized activation."

"A what?" She asked blankly.

Kurogiri sighed. "Your body dissolves as a part of your quirk. You should try using it on just one part of your body; say a hand or a finger."

"Oh." She said dumbly, eyeing her hand. How the hell was she supposed to make just her hand disappear? As far as she could tell this quirk only had an on and off switch. "Ok. I'll try to work with that."

He gave a nod for her to commence.

Shit. He actually wanted to watch? Well this was bound to be embarrassing.

Chisaki looked down at her hand for a moment, considering a method. Did she just need to _think_ about it happening? Maybe if she just…

She reached for that heat in her chest and imagined it igniting in just the tip of one finger.

With a yelp of surprise she flinched back in shock. She had definitely not expected that.

Her whole arm had erupted into a formless cloud of black smoke, and it had swallowed everything up to her elbow.

When the surprise passed Chisaki stared at it for a moment, puzzled. It was a black wispy mass, not too unlike Kurogiri's warp gate material, but it looked lighter and more floaty. She watched as it shifted and moved with each motioned of what was left of her arm. It felt like there was something still there beneath the smoke, like it almost _contained_ her arm.

Weird.

"Did it look like this when I went full body earlier?"

"Yes." Kurogiri answered matter of factly. "You became a big cloud of this."

A cloud? Of this? Why hadn't she noticed it?

Now that she thought about it, everything had changed color. Was that another side effect of this quirk?

Ugh, this was getting to be too much information for her to just keep in her head. She needed to write this in her journal.

It was now, of course, that she remembered that she was still wearing her backpack. She'd had it with her this whole time.

Chisaki slung it off over her shoulder and onto the ground. Thoughts swirled in her mind while she rummaged around one handedly for her singed notebook and a pencil.

Did that mean that all of her things had turned into smoke with her? Actually, hadn't her clothes also rematerialized when she did? Exactly what were the limitations to this quirk? What did it do?  
Where had it even come from?

When Sensei'd explained his quirk a few days ago he'd said something about taking and giving quirks. So had this one belonged to someone else before? What happened to them?

That sent a shiver of dread down her spine.

She bit her lip and shook her head. Nope, that was too dark for now. She'd come back to that later.

Chisaki hauled out her notebook, sprawled it open on the floor, and bent over it with the pencil.

She began to write, scribbling in the neatest handwriting she could all that she understood.

1)This quirk dissolves body into smoke: uses unclear

2) It is possible to control how much of body affected: degree, speed, and uses unclear

3) Appears to allow for other items to be dissolved when activated: limitations unclear

4) I appear to be unable to breath while it is active on full body: this to be investigated, may indicate limitations of quirk, including duration, application, and flexibility.

5) …

What else did she know?... Not how to turn it off, that was for sure. She stared at her missing hand with a sigh. Well, she'd have to figure out how to do at least that today. She sure as hell couldn't head home like this.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Kurogiri began, politely interrupting her thoughts as he peered down at her notebook. "What are you doing exactly?"

Chisaki looked up from her notes for a moment, blinking in confusion. "I'm… recording my thoughts on my quirk…? I thought that in order to understand this quirk, I'd need to be able to keep a statement of my observations and analysis."

He raised an eyebrow and searched her face. "Analysis? Do you do this often?"

"Yes." She said, perking up. "I do it mostly on heroes. It's been a habit ever since I was little. I just love observing hero and villain fights and I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. Most of the time I take notes on what they do well, where they fall short, where they can improve, and what their weak points may be. I just think it's really fun and kind of useful. Especially since Hero's were these indomitable giants, I just wanted so badly to understand what made them great. I mean, if I was going to become a hero like them, I'd have to know those kinds of things right?" Her excited smile withered under a bitter thought. "But… I guess that that was pretty useless, wasn't it? Especially considering where we are now."

"Maybe…but, I think that it's commendable."

Commendable?

She let out a weak laugh in admission. "Thanks… I just, uh… I normally get the opposite reaction. I mean can you imagine a quirkless little geek chasing after heroes? What a pest right?" Her lips pressed into a hard line, her expression grim as she looked away in shame.

"What freaks have been telling you that worthless bullshit?" A new voice rasped out icily from behind her.

Chisaki straightened in surprise and twisted to look over her shoulder. She found Shigaraki glaring back at her. He was leaning against a doorway behind her with a frown twisted across his lips in bitter disapproval.

She pursed her own lips at the sight of him and looked away. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me." He grumbled fiercely, stalking towards her with one dreadful hand pointed at her back in accusation. "Someone had to have done that to you, and I don't doubt for a second that they're the same incompetent shits that've been filling your head with all of that bullcrap!"

Chisaki stiffened and followed his gaze. He couldn't be talking about-

Her shirt had come untucked and, because of her sitting position, her lower back had been completely exposed to him; its blue, green, and purple hues on full display.

"What are you talking about?" Kurogiri said in confusion, until he'd circled around her far enough to catch a glimpse of the sight. She quickly twisted away in embarrassment. Realization lit across his face and Kurogiri's composure slipped into anger. "Who did this to you?"

"No one. It's none of your business!" Chisaki said, eyes on the floor as she wrapped her arms around herself. She felt oddly violated. They weren't supposed to have seen that.

"Why do you care anyways? It's just a few bruises. I mean it's nothing compared to _killing_ people!"

"Since when are you okay with people getting tormented and tortured? Do you just draw the line at outright murder or something? 'Cuz here you are, justifying someone tormenting you over some fucking dream you want to pursue." Shigaraki accused, with a glare down his nose at her.

She flinched away. "N-no, that's not what I meant, I-."

"Yeah, I didn't think so." He snarled, before his lips twisted in a spiteful grin. He gave a snort. "You know, for all of your prattling on about justice and all of your hero bullshit, you're quite the hypocrite. I mean really? You? Be a hero? When you can't even save yourself? Yeah. I'm not surprised that you didn't get very far."

"-Shut up. This… this is different."

"Different? No. Its fucking not."

"Yes it is! I can't do anything against him!"

"Why the hell not? You almost shot _me_ just a few days ago! This guy shouldn't be a problem for you!"

"There were very different circumstances to that!"

"So what? You're telling me that you're just going to sit and wait for this _asshat_ to kill you before you to do anything? That sounds like a real _good_ plan. Why don't you just kill him first if he's so dead set on hurting you?"

"I am not fucking _killing_ Kachaan!" She barked at him, realizing now that she was hovering practically an inch from his face, glaring straight into his eyes.

When had she stood up? When had she gotten so close?

He just grinned at her, oddly smug at her overreaction. Chisaki blinked back at him for a moment and reigned herself in with a scowl.

"I'm not killing anyone." She said, looking away and folding in on herself nervously.

"Then do something else." He said rather directly. His voice was that odd slimy, gravelly, drawl that cut through her like a knife. His red eyes were drilling into her with a chilling ferocity. It was so unlike him that she couldn't react to his next words. "If we're going to wake this world from its delusion about heroes, I'm going to need you at your best… With no reservations, no hangups, and certainly no baggage. Killing or no killing, just do whatever you need to."

Then the look was gone and he slumped back into his usual slouch, turned on his heel with a sigh, and began his retreat to the dark hallway that he'd emerged from.

She watched after him with wide eyes, stunned to the spot as his words echoed in her ears.

He needed her. Did this mean that he officially didn't hate her? Then what about the competition they were going to have in a few months? That was still happening, right?

Well, they shared a goal; at least that was moderately reassuring.

She wasn't given much time to mull things over though, because Kurogiri immediately fixed her with his curious gaze.

"Do you want to tell me about this Kachaan person? I presume that thats a pet name… You obviously feel very strongly about him. Whats your history?"

He sounded earnestly concerned for her and Chisaki sputtered for an answer for a moment, completely caught off guard by the sudden request.

"I-Well…Yes." She sputtered nervously as she turned back to face him. "Um, he's someone that I've known for a very long time… Obviously, we don't have the best relationship."

"Yet you don't want to see him hurt?"

"No. Not really." She was picking self-consciously at her shirt sleeve. One of Bakugo's handprints was still vaguely singed onto the shoulder. "He's a vicious, self centered, egoistic, prick… but I… I don't hate him enough to want him dead. We've shared a dream since childhood, you know? We both wanted to be heroes. He just had the means and I didn't. So despite everything, I've always considered us friends, even if he doesn't seem to share that sentiment." Her hands drifted down to play with the hem of her skirt now, nerves sending them picking at stray threads as an excuse to avoid eyecontact. "So, I guess that I've never done much about him, because thats just how things have always been. I don't really mind it most of the time. I mean its scary, but he's bearable if I don't think about it too hard… "

Wait. She looked down at her hands in her lap. She had hands. Plural.

Kurogiri eyed her for a moment, waiting patiently for her to resume her explanation.

"Uh…How long has my hand been back?"

"A few minutes." He said frankly.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"My apologies. I thought you'd noticed."

"Ugh, its ok. Please, just let me know next time." He gave a nodd. She picked up her notebook in one hand, her pencil poised in the other. "Do you have any idea how long it was in smoke form for?"

"A little over five minutes." She noted that quickly. "Now, about your friend…" He began expectantly.

Chisaki paused in thought for a moment, before eventually snapping her book closed with a sigh. "Well, I don't think that I can do anything about him right this instant. We're complicated, so I'll have to think it over a little more." She chewed at her lip in worry as she began putting her things away and zipping up her backpack. She was suddenly feeling rather drained and her eyes lingered on her hands nervously for a moment. "Do you mind if we call it a day? Its kind of been a lot and I'm exhausted… I can come back— Well, not tomorrow. The next day."

"Sure." He said cordially. "Thursday it is."

"Great." Chisaki said with a smile of relief.

He began opening a portal wordlessly.

"Thank you, by the way." She said restlessly. "For listening to my rant and bearing with me."

"Of course." He said, dipping his head as he gestured to her exit. "I'll always be here for when you need me."

Chisaki eyed him for a moment, questions rising in her mind. For the first time it struck her that Kurogiri was much more than she'd initially taken him for. He was definitely not just some second in command with a penchant for bar tending. Even if he was a cold hearted villain, he was oddly accommodating and sweet.

"Thank you. I'll, uh, see you Thursday." She said simply with a smile.

"Yes." Was all he said before she disappeared.

* * *

AN: Ok guys, here you go. Thats it for June. (I say that, but I might just post again next week, since I'm so excited for the next chapter. You guys have no idea!)

Honestly the further I get into this fic, the more I realize how little structure there is to this mess, but I'm running with it.

So, since I don't know how to cover for my newb ass, I'm afraid that this is going to be the nature of most of the rest of the fic. Sorry if thats disappointing for some, but I'm not a professional, just a kiddo with a hobby.

Anyways, from one useless tangent to another, I literally can't wait to post the next chapter. I'm buzzing with excitement. Its my first time delving into something emotional and I'm curious to see how its received.

Thats all from me. Stay safe, take care of yourselves, and leave a comment if you feel like it; I'm always here for criticism and tips to improve.

Much love,  
Option A


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